LAGOS - Nigeria's Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals has secured $2.5 billion ​from African Export-Import ⁠Bank (Afreximbank) as part of a $4 billion syndicated term ‌loan, strengthening the financial position of Africa’s largest oil refinery and ​supporting its next phase of growth.

Afreximbank and Access Bank acted as ​co-mandated lead arrangers for ​the five-year facility, which refinances existing debt and aligns financing with the refinery’s operational phase.

The ⁠Dangote refinery, with capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, began refining operations in February 2024. It is expected to supply refined petroleum products to Nigeria and regional markets, ​potentially reducing ‌fuel imports.

Afreximbank’s $2.5 ⁠billion contribution ⁠is the largest share in the syndicate, the bank said. Other ​lenders in the consortium were not disclosed.

Since ‌refining began, Afreximbank has also ⁠provided a $1 billion working-capital facility to the refinery and acted as financial adviser on Nigeria’s naira-for-crude programme, which allows crude oil purchases and refined-product sales in local currency.

Afreximbank said it has invested about $15 billion in the Dangote Group since 2015.

Dangote Industries Chairman Aliko Dangote said the refinancing would strengthen the refinery’s financial position and support ‌its next phase of operations.

The loan attracted ⁠interest from African and international lenders, reflecting ​continued appetite for large-scale energy infrastructure financing, Afreximbank said.

Nigeria, Africa’s largest oil producer, has historically relied on imported fuels ​due to ‌limited domestic refining capacity, contributing to pressure ⁠on foreign exchange reserves.