<< Back             Poser >> Dangote Refinery charts industrial future with surfactant plant By Providence Ayanfeoluwa Dangote Petroleum Refinery has announced plans to expand beyond crude processing into a fully integrated industrial hub, unveiling five major projects that aim to transform Africa’s manufacturing landscape. The project encompasses the ambitious expansion plan of a 400,000-tonne Linear Alkaline Benzene (LAB) plant to support detergent manufacturing across the continent. Addressing journalists during a tour of the refinery, Managing Director/Chief Executive, David Bird, said that such dependency is about to change. Bird pointed out that Africa currently imports 100 percent of its detergent and cleaning agent ingredients. To address this, he said: “Africa imports 100 percent of its detergent and cleaning agent ingredients, it is called surfactant, that’s what makes the bubbles in detergent, that’s called LAB – linear alkaline benzene. “And so we will be building a 400,000 tonne LAB plant in order to ensure that Africa and the region no longer have to be dependent on importing all of their cleaning agents. “Five major projects are already underway, which is a very ambitious growth agenda, and turning this not into just a refinery, but fully world-class industrial refining and trading hub that I think will be transformational for not only the region and the continent but Atlantic hemisphere.” According to him, the project is expected to drastically reduce import dependence and ensure that Africa and the region can source cleaning agent ingredients locally. Meanwhile, Bird declared readiness to compete in the West African market on the basis of import parity pricing, while calling for strong regulation to ensure product quality and protect consumers. He said: “With local refining, we can eliminate that inefficiency by processing crude at our doorstep and delivering products directly to our immediate market. That alone is import parity pricing”. Vanguard Business News	Dangote Cement revenue hits N4.31trn as profit tops N1trn Dangote Cement Plc has reported a 20.3 per cent revenue growth to N4.31 trillion for the year ended Dec. 31, 2025. NGX Group records N15.6bn profit, declares N3.00 dividend …Issues 1 for 3 bonus By Peter Egwuatu   The Nigerian Exchange Group, NGX Group has the recorded N15.6 billion Profit Before Tax, PBT,   in its audited results for the year ended 31 December 2025, up from N13.6 billion in the corresponding period 2024. The Exchange also declared N3.00 per share dividend and a bonus of one […] Dangote Refinery charts industrial future with surfactant plant By Providence Ayanfeoluwa Dangote Petroleum Refinery has announced plans to expand beyond crude processing into a fully integrated industrial hub, unveiling five major projects that aim to transform Africa’s manufacturing landscape. The project encompasses the ambitious expansion plan of a 400,000-tonne Linear Alkaline Benzene (LAB) plant to support detergent manufacturing across the continent. Addressing journalists during […] Oil Theft: How criminal networks are moving from creeks to communities For decades, Nigeria’s oil theft crisis was largely associated with remote creeks, mangrove swamps and offshore vandalism in the Niger Delta. Increasingly, however, security agencies say the trade is migrating inland-embedding itself within civilian communities, markets and transport corridors where it can operate under the cover of everyday commerce. The recent exposure of Owaza Mami Market […] FG extends ban on Shea nut export to boost domestic processing By Peter Egwuatu,  with agency report   The Federal Government has extended its ban on Shea nut exports by a year, reinforcing a drive to curb raw commodity shipments and boost local value addition. The extension takes effect from February 26, 2026, to February 25, 2027. Approving the ban, President Bola Tinubu said that  Nigeria is trying to […] Lafarge Africa revenue surges 53% to N1.1trn By Peter Egwuatu Lafarge Africa Plc has announced a revenue milestone of N1.1 trillion in 2025, representing a 53% surge from N696.8 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2024. Profit After Tax (PAT) rose from N100.1 billion in 2024 to N273 billion representing a 173% increase. The company said this performance is underpinned by volume-led […]