Nigeria's Dangote petroleum refinery will construct storage tanks in Namibia to hold at least 1.6 million barrels of petrol and diesel to supply refined fuel to Southern Africa, two sources told Reuters on Wednesday.

The move underscores the refinery's ambition to dominate fuel supply in Africa and beyond, potentially reshaping energy trade flows in the region and boosting access to refined products for Southern African nations.

The 650,000 barrels per day refinery, built at a cost of $20 billion by Africa's richest man Aliko Dangote, started operations last year and has been ramping up production and seeking new markets.

The sources, who were briefed on the development, said the storage tanks would be used to supply petrol and diesel to Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Namibia port official confirms construction plans

Dangote was also considering supplying fuel to southern Democratic Republic of Congo, the sources said.

A Dangote spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

It was not immediately clear how much the project would cost, but the second source said construction of the storage tanks would begin shortly in the port city of Walvis Bay.   

A Namibia Ports Authority official confirmed the plans and said the storage tanks would be housed within the Walvis Bay harbor.

Petroleum export to Asia

A source said last month that a Dangote petroleum cargo was heading to Asia, the first time the refinery was selling petrol outside the West African region.

Dangote refinery says at full capacity, the plant would produce enough to meet demand in Nigeria, which has sharply cut imports of processed fuels, and export the rest.