Dangote signs US$4.2B gas deal for Ethiopia fertilizer plant
The Nigerian group moves ahead with plans to supply Ethiopia’s fertilizer market and nearby countries.
ETHIOPIA – The Dangote Group has signed a US$4.2 billion gas supply agreement with China based GCL Group to support a fertilizer plant now under construction in Gode, Ethiopia.
The company announced the deal on March 16 and set the contract period at 25 years.
The gas will supply a large urea production complex that Dangote began building in 2025. The project aims to reduce Ethiopia’s heavy dependence on fertilizer imports and support farm output across the region.
GCL will supply natural gas from the Calub gas field in Ethiopia’s Ogaden Basin. A dedicated 108 kilometre pipeline will carry the gas directly to the fertilizer plant in Gode.
Aliko Dangote, Chief Executive Officer of Dangote Industries Limited, said the partnership will connect gas production to fertilizer manufacturing within the country.
“Through close cooperation with GCL, we will create a full chain from natural gas extraction to fertilizer production, taking an important step toward stronger food security in Africa,” he said.
GCL has worked with the Ethiopian state on the Ogaden liquefied natural gas project since 2013. The project reached a key step on October 2, 2025 when operators opened the first phase of the facility. That phase can produce about 111 million litres of LNG each year. Developers have also started work on a second phase that could raise capacity to about 1.33 billion litres annually, although operators have not shared a start date.
The companies have not yet disclosed the exact gas volumes linked to the new supply agreement.
Ethiopia seeks to reduce fertilizer imports
Dangote expects the Gode fertilizer plant to begin operations in 2029. The facility will produce about three million tons of urea each year. The company aims to meet Ethiopia’s current demand and supply nearby markets.
Data from the International Fertilizer Development Center shows that Ethiopia imported about 2.32 million tons of fertilizer in 2024. The country does not yet produce inorganic fertilizers at scale.
The Ethiopian government manages much of the fertilizer supply system. The Ethiopian Agricultural Businesses Corporation handles more than 90 percent of imports and works with cooperatives to distribute the products to farmers.
Earlier agreement for major fertilizer complex
The gas supply deal follows an earlier investment agreement signed in August 2025 between Dangote and Ethiopian Investment Holdings. The partners committed US$2.5 billion to develop the Gode fertilizer complex.
Officials signed the deal in the presence of Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Aliko Dangote. Under the agreement, Dangote Group holds a 60 percent stake in the project while Ethiopian Investment Holdings owns the remaining 40 percent.
Once completed, the plant could rank among the world’s largest single site urea facilities and strengthen fertilizer supply across East Africa.
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