…mulls $3 billion petrochemical, fertilizer investment in Africa

Indorama Eleme Petrochemicals Limited (IEPL) has urged the government and oil and gas stakeholders to tackle the sector’s innovation and downstream gaps while prioritising sustainability to unlock its vast economic potential.

This is as the firm disclosed plans to expand its petrochemical and fertiliser plants with a $3 billion investment to become Africa’s largest petrochemical and fertiliser hub.

The plan according to the company will be executed within the next five years.

Managing Director of IEPL, Mr. Manish Mundra made the disclosure in Port Harcourt while presenting a keynote address at 7th Mid/Downstream Oil and Gas Conference with the theme, “Repositioning Nigeria’s Petrochemicals Sector for Industrial Growth, Innovations, and Sustainable Development,” organised by the Centre For Gas, Refining and Petrochemical Engineering (CGRP), University of Port Harcourt in conjunction with the Nigerian Society of Chemical Engineers (NSChE).

He noted that the country has the capacity to Step up innovations and address the gap in the sector.

Mundra said while the country’s refining capacity is expanding rapidly, the nation still imports the bulk of its plastic, fertilizers, specialty chemicals, etc.

He said repositioning the sector means converting hydrocarbon endowments into diversified high-value industrial output.

Represented by the Head, Fertiliser Manufacture, Indorama Eleme Fertiliser and Chemicals Limited, Mr Upendra Singh, he noted that Nigeria holds Africa’s largest gas reserve and second-largest oil reserve.

The Indorama MD said Nigeria has what he described as “the field sack advantage, ” but said it is underused.

“Nigeria again has the resource, large resource base for oil and gas, which is exported as LNG or converted into polymers, fertilizers, and downstream products. Past 5 years have changed the arithmetic of the choice.

“For this, we need to have the policy reform, like PIA 2021 and subsidy deregulation, which are resetting the investment signals across the value chain as new downstream landscape, large-scale refining and petrochemical capacities are coming up, pushing Nigeria from import dependence toward the next export state status, ” he said.

He said increasing population growth, agriculture, construction, and packaging keep lifting African demand for polymers and fertilizers, including the Middle East crisis, urging Nigeria to capitalise on it.

“We need to capitalize this. Middle East crisis and logistic challenges will make Africa more attractive for the West. We have the highest massive gas stock in Africa, more than 206 TCF, which can be converted into orifins: polyolifins, ammonia, urea, and intermediate integrated—integrated complexes. It can further be converted into resins and packaging pipes, textiles, for domestic consumption or exported to West and Central Africa, ” he added.

Speaking on how IEPL is turning around petrochemicals and fertiliser manufacturing in Nigeria and Africa, Mundra stated that today, the company operates in the first three verticals of feedstock conversion and manufacturing, maximizing the value chain value of each molecule in the chain.

He said the company since acquring the Eleme Petrochemicals Company in 2006 has grown to having three plants within the complex that has the annual capacity of 4.2 million metric tons of urea per annum.

“In 2024, Indorama took the fifth turnaround of petrochemicals division. It was a major turnaround, and its capacity was expanded; debottlenecking measures were taken up. Its capacity was expanded from 350 kilotons per annum of polymers to the 425 kTA of polymers. Now, 2026 and beyond, for next 5 years, we have the plans to expand to become the Africa’s largest petrochemical and fertilizer hub, with the investment of over $3 billion, ” he stated.

He described the company’s achievements as a successful story of public-private partnership.

Profering solutions to how Nigeria can build sustainability in the oil and gas sector, the Indorama MD suggested deep integration which has to do with securing the gas feed stock, expanding the domestic conversion capacity, and building local converters.

He also called for innovation across the chain, diversifying beyond the commodity polymers, digitalization of the plant capability, reliability, growing local and technical engineering capability. Then build in sustainability by reducing gas flaring, cutting emissions in intensity, and design for circular plastic economy from the outset.

Earlier in his welcome address, Anthony Ogbuigwe, Chairman, Governing Board of CGRP said the conference aims to sensitize policy makers in the country on the need to add value to the oil and gas sector by utilising by-products of the sector to create more wealth for the country.

“We want to sensitize the decision makers that this is the way to go. We need to add value. And then let our people also realize that we should stop thinking of Nigeria as a wealthy nation simply because we export crude oil and gas.

“Wealth is not created by just exporting primary products. Wealth is created by adding value through innovation, through sustainable growth and development. That is how wealth is created. Less than 15% of the wealth is in the primary product. The remaining 85% is in adding value. So let’s add value, ” he maintained.