Dangote proposal targets 2028 Nigeria-Ghana fuel pipeline

The proposed Nigeria-Ghana refined-products pipeline carries a reported 2028 construction start, while its cost, length and transport capacity remain undisclosed.

Dangote Group, the company of Nigerian industrialist Aliko Dangote, has drawn up a concept for an undersea line from the Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lekki, Lagos, to West African markets.

It would carry petrol and other refined products, with the stated aims of reducing transport costs and strengthening regional fuel supplies.

The available information identifies no final investment decision, construction contract or approved budget, so the proposal has not reached sanctioned-project status.

What does the pipeline connect?

The route described by Billionaires.Africa starts at the Lekki refinery and runs to Apapa port. From there, the undersea section would pass through Seme, near the Benin border, reach Lomé in Togo, and continue to either Takoradi or Tema in Ghana.

The plan broadly follows the existing West African Gas Pipeline, which carries Nigerian natural gas through Benin, Togo and Ghana. Africa Oil+Gas Report also reported the proposed route and the 2028 construction target.

For marine and terminal operators, the unresolved choice between Takoradi and Tema matters because the report has not selected a final Ghanaian landing point or set out a design for the seabed crossing. The route is therefore a corridor, not an approved construction specification.

In physical terms, the proposal connects Lekki with two possible Ghanaian endpoints through Togo, but the marine design and final destination remain open.

Can Dangote secure enough offtake?

Ghana is seeking stronger access to imported refined products because its domestic refining capacity is limited. In February, Shore Africa reported that National Petroleum Authority chief executive Godwin Kudzo Tameklo had confirmed commercial discussions with Dangote Group over fuel imports.

Tameklo said: “That scale may sound insignificant in Nigeria, but in Ghana it is considered sizeable.” He made the comparison while noting Ghana’s limited domestic refining capacity.

He added: “Ghana therefore represents a strong offtake market for the Dangote Refinery.” The statement gives Ghana’s import demand a commercial role in the proposal, but it does not specify a contracted volume or shipping schedule.

Africa Oil+Gas Report said the route would also let the refinery supply Togo directly and challenge Lomé’s established fuel-trading hub. Nigerian petroleum marketers currently import some products through Lomé.

The route could put Dangote’s output closer to two West African markets, although the report does not quantify either market’s committed purchases.

Commercial interest in Ghana and direct access to Togo provide the demand case, but no contracted volumes appear in the source.

Why does the proposal target 2028?

People familiar with Dangote Group’s plans, as cited by Billionaires.Africa, said construction could begin in 2028. The source links that date to progress on other petroleum-infrastructure projects in Kenya, Djibouti, Ethiopia and Namibia.

The wider sequence matters more than the calendar alone: each project has to advance before the group can commit to the Nigeria-Ghana line. The report gives no separate permitting timetable, financing structure or procurement schedule for the marine link.

For practitioners, the missing items are specific: capital cost, route length, transport capacity, marine design and a dated approval path. Without them, the headline date cannot yet support a firm construction plan.

Plainly, 2028 is a planning target rather than a committed start date.

How does it fit the wider build-out?

The Nigeria-Ghana proposal sits within Dangote’s plan to connect refining and other production facilities with a continent-wide fuel-distribution network serving markets that depend heavily on imported petroleum products. Several other projects provide the execution context.

• Reuters reported that Dangote is involved in a $660 million refined-petroleum pipeline connecting Djibouti and Ethiopia. The 120-km system includes storage facilities with combined capacity of about 1.175 million cubic metres.
• Billionaires.Africa reported that the group acquired a 24.76% stake in Kenya Pipeline Company for approximately $327 million in October.
• The group has also outlined a 2,650-km pipeline at an estimated cost of $3.5 billion to carry fuel across Namibia, Botswana and South Africa.
• The broader investment program is expected to reach approximately $50 billion between 2026 and 2030.

The proposed undersea line would extend an already broad distribution build-out rather than form a stand-alone entry into West African fuel trading.

The next watch item is the first permit or formal approval for the Nigeria-Ghana line, followed by a disclosed cost and capacity. Without those, the reported 2028 start remains the most useful date for tracking the proposal.