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Nitrogen+Syngas 399 Jan-Feb 2026

27 January 2026

Dangote planning two massive new ammonia-urea complexes

NIGERIA

Dangote planning two massive new ammonia-urea complexes

Dangote Fertilizer, Africa’s leading fertilizer producer, has awarded contracts to several major companies for the provision of licenses and technical expertise for the development of two new planned ammonia-urea complexes, one in Nigeria and the other in Ethiopia, as well as the provision of basic engineering and design services for the related plants.

The Nigerian operation envisages for new ammonia-urea trains. Saipem has been selected to provide its proprietary Snamprogetti™ urea technology, as well as process engineering services including all technical documentation required for the construction of the urea units, each with a record capacity of 4,235 t/d, for a total of 16,940 t/d (5.6 million t/a). thyssenkrupp Uhde Fertilizer Technology (UFT) will also license its UFT® fluid bed granulation technology for the urea plants. Topsoe will supply licenses for the four 2,500 t/d gas-based ammonia units which will feed the urea plants. The new trains will be built at Dangote’s existing Lekki facility near Lagos, which already operates 3 million t/a of urea capacity.

Additionally, a complex in Ethiopia is planned to include two more 2,500 t/d Topsoe ammonia plants, with 3 million t/a of downstream urea capacity licensed by Saipem. Saipem and Dangote Fertilizer have signed a letter of intent for front end engineering design (FEED) services relating the new complex in Ethiopia, developed in partnership with Ethiopian Investment Holdings for the construction of a plant at Gode, in the Somali region of the country.

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Agreement signed with green ammonia developer

The government of Morocco has signed an agreement with the ORNX consortium to advance a $4.5 billion green ammonia project in the southern city of Laayoune, as part of Morocco’s ambitions to become a global hub for green hydrogen and derivatives. The development combine wind and solar electricity generation with hydrogen from electrolysis to feed green ammonia production. Under the terms of the agreement, more than 2 GW of renewable energy capacity will be installed, feeding 900 MW of electrolysers producing green hydrogen. To ensure operational stability and continuous output, the facility will also incorporate battery energy storage systems. In addition, a seawater desalination plant will be constructed to provide the purified water required for hydrogen production, addressing resource constraints in the arid coastal region. During its initial phase, the complex is expected to generate around 100,000 t/a of green hydrogen, which will allow the production of 560,000 t/a of green ammonia. The ammonia will be used both domestically in ammonium phosphate production as well as being exported internationally.