Africa bucks global refining trend
Despite oil companies the world over mothballing old refineries and putting new projects on hold, there has been a recent bustle of activity in sub-Saharan Africa
Three countries—Congo, Angola and Nigeria—have seen the bulk of the activity. Congo (Brazzavile) is pressing ahead with a $600mn integrated export refinery and petrochemical complex, while Angola is building three new facilities and tripling gasoline production at its Luanda refinery. The Dangote Group expects the first phase of its 650,000bl/d Nigerian refinery—the continent’s largest—to be completed in January. Tendering is also under way for the long-awaited rehabilitation of Nigeria’s four state-owned facilities. A scattering of smaller, modular refineries are also in the works. “There has been a flurry of small African refining projects just as shutdown announcements of European and Ame

Also in this section
1 August 2025
A number of companies have filed arbitration claims against Gazprom over non-deliveries of contracted gas or other matters—and won. The next step is to collect the award; this is no easy task but it can be done thanks to an international legal framework under the New York Convention.
1 August 2025
Europe’s refining sector is desperately trying to adapt to a shifting global energy landscape and nowhere is this more apparent than in its largest economy
1 August 2025
The Middle East natural gas playbook is being rewritten. The fuel source offers the region a pathway to a cleaner, sustainable and affordable means of local power, to fasttrack economic development and as a lucrative opportunity to better monetise its energy resources.
31 July 2025
TotalEnergies is an outlier among other majors for remaining committed to low-carbon investments while continuing to replenish and expand its ample oil and gas portfolio, with an appetite for high risk/high return projects.