Africa is a continent rich in natural diversity and contains natural resources such as oil and gas, which some governments have begun to extract. There are numerous untapped oil deposits in developing countries.

Major national and international enterprises in Africa have implemented oil refineries.

Many of the world's largest oil refinery plants are located in Africa's major oil-reserved countries, such as South Africa, Egypt, and Libya.

Which is the biggest refinery in Africa? Dangote Refinery?

The biggest refinery in Africa is located in Lagos, Nigeria and has an annual production capacity of 1.8 million metric tonnes of refined products. It was built at an estimated cost of $9 billion and started operations in 2017.

The refinery has a processing capacity of 300,000 barrels per day (bpd) and can process various grades of crude oil including heavy sour crude oil from Russia, West Africa and South America.

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The Dangote Refinery, which is located in Lagos, Nigeria, has a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day (bpd). This makes it the largest refinery in Africa by far and one of the largest refineries in the world.

The Dangote Refinery is an oil refinery owned by Aliko Dangote, the Dangote Group Chairman. Although the refinery in Lekki, Lagos State, Nigeria, is still under construction, it is expected to process roughly 650,000 barrels of crude oil per day, making it the world's largest single-train refinery.

Aliko Dangote is claimed to have invested over $7 billion, or slightly over 60% of his total net fortune, which Forbes estimates to be $11.6 billion.

However, there are a few refineries that are larger than this facility. The Saudi Aramco Ras Tanura Refinery has a capacity of 1.2 million bpd, while the Kuwait National Petroleum Company Bayan Refinery has a capacity of 1.5 million bpd.

The top biggest refineries in Africa are located in Nigeria and South Africa.

The top three biggest refineries in Africa are the Abadan refinery, the Port Harcourt refinery, and the Dangote refinery.

• The Abadan refinery is located in Iran, and it has a capacity of 254,500 barrels per day.
• The Port Harcourt refinery is located in Nigeria, and it has a capacity of 220,000 barrels per day. Finally, the Dangote refinery is located in Lagos, Nigeria; it has a capacity of 400,000 barrels per day.
• The Dangote refinery is the largest refinery in Africa, but it is not the largest refinery in the world.

Dangote Refinery is the largest oil refinery in Africa. It has a capacity of over 1 million barrels per day. Chevron's refinery in Nigeria is the second largest, with a capacity of 500,000 barrels per day. The third largest is Total's refinery in Algeria, which has a capacity of 400,000 barrels per day.

According to the World Refining Association, the top three refineries in Africa are:

• The Dangote Refinery in Nigeria, with a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day
• The Tema Oil Refinery in Ghana, with a capacity of 320,000 barrels per day
• The Chevron-operated Port Harcourt refinery in Nigeria, which has a capacity of 270,000 barrels per day

Top 5 oil and gas industry in Africa

As oil and gas exploration speeds up in many resource-rich basins across Africa, countries are turning to downstream expansions to boost domestic production capacity, reduce refined product imports, and maximize the benefits of Africa's vast oil and gas reserves.

Below are the top 5 biggest refinery in Africa

Dangote refinery 650,000 barrel per day

The Dangote refinery, which to be built near Lagos, Nigeria, will be Africa's largest oil refinery, with a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day (bpd).

The Dangote refinery, which is part of a petrochemical complex, will drastically cut petroleum imports by exporting refined products to the West African region. The $19 billion refinery, which is set to open next year, will have a huge impact on the region and Africa.

Skikda oil refinery Algeria: 356,000 barrel per day

The Skikda refinery, which is located along Algeria's northern coast and has a nameplate capacity of 356,500 bpd, is Africa's second largest oil refinery.

Sonatrach, the country's state-owned oil firm, owns and operates the refinery, which receives crude oil from the Hassi Messaoud oilfields.

Port-Harcourt refinery Nigeria.  210,000 barrel per day

The Port Harcourt refinery, a 210,000-bpd refinery complex in Nigeria, is made up of two refineries in Alesa-Eleme, Rivers State.

The refinery is currently the country's largest working refinery and is operated by the Port Harcourt Refining Company, a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.

Lobito Refinery 200,000 Barrels Per Day

Angola has issued a request for proposals for the construction of the Lobito oil refinery, which would have a capacity of 200,000 barrels per day.

The Lobito refinery, which is part of the country's National Development Plan 2018, will greatly expand domestic production capacity while also providing over 8,000 jobs.

Sapref Refinery 180,000 Barrels Per Day

The SAPREF refinery in South Africa, a 50:50 joint venture between BP and Shell, is the largest crude oil refinery in southern Africa, with a capacity of 180,000 barrels per day.

The refinery, which is located in Durban, accounts for about 35 percent of the country's total refining capacity.