Aliko Dangote, president and chief executive of Dangote Petroleum Refinery, has revealed that the risk involved in building Africa’s largest oil refining facility was so enormous that failure would have cost him his entire fortune.

Speaking at a conference in Lagos to mark the first anniversary of the refinery’s production of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly known as petrol, Dangote said the project had been a defining moment not only for Nigeria but for the entire African continent.

The $19 billion, 650,000 barrels-per-day facility began producing petrol on September 15, 2024. According to Dangote, the refinery has since eliminated Nigeria’s half-century-long struggle with recurring fuel queues.

Reflecting on the project’s long gestation, Dangote disclosed that warnings from global industry experts, investors, and even government officials were constant.

They argued that no private individual had ever attempted a refinery of such scale and that such ventures were the exclusive preserve of sovereign states.

“The decision to build the refinery was not easy,” he said. “If it had gone wrong, lenders would have taken our assets. But we believed in Nigeria and Africa.”

The business magnate explained that his group was repeatedly told the project was impossible, with skeptics insisting that even multinational oil majors had abandoned similar ambitions. Despite the risks, Dangote pressed ahead, raising financing from a mix of domestic and international banks.

“Had it failed, I would have lost everything to the banks. But today, the refinery is standing as a symbol of what Africans can achieve,” he added.