Dangote Industries has signed a major agreement with Honeywell to provide advanced refinery services and technology that will enable the expansion of its refining capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day (bpd) by 2028, a development seen as the strongest signal yet that Africa’s largest refinery is moving steadily toward becoming the world’s biggest petroleum processing hub.

Under the deal announced on Tuesday, Reuters reports that Honeywell will supply cutting-edge catalysts, equipment and technical support that will allow the refinery to process a broader range of crude grades.

This flexibility is critical to supporting the massive scale-up of operations as Dangote begins preparations for its second single-train unit.

The Dangote refinery, with an existing capacity of 650,000 bpd, is one of the world’s largest single-train refining facilities.

The partnership also comes at a pivotal moment for Honeywell, which is undergoing a major corporate restructuring as it prepares to spin off its aerospace division, currently its most profitable business.

The collaboration with Dangote is expected to boost revenues and reinforce Honeywell’s position as a key player in global energy technology solutions.

In October Dangote refinery unveiled a plan to double output by adding another 750,000-bpd single-train line within the next three years. When completed, the expanded 1.4 million-bpd capacity would allow the refinery to process nearly all of Nigeria’s current crude oil production of around 1.5 million bpd, a milestone that could significantly reshape the country’s energy landscape and foreign exchange earnings.

The Dangote Petroleum Refinery was commissioned in 2023 with a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day.