Honeywell Launches Industrial AI Platform at Dangote Refinery Targeting $60 Million Annual Savings

Honeywell Unveils Forge Plant Cognition at Dangote Petroleum Refinery

Honeywell announced the launch of Forge Plant Cognition, an industrial AI platform developed in collaboration with NVIDIA and Dell Technologies, debuting at Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lekki, Nigeria1

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. The platform is designed to help refining, petrochemical and LNG plant operations generate greater value from existing assets and transform operational workflows. Based on preliminary data, Honeywell estimates that AI-enabled optimization with Forge Plant Cognition could deliver operational benefits of more than 29 cents per barrel at the Lekki refinery1

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. At full-capacity throughput, this translates to more than $60 million in gross annual operational benefits for the facility2

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. Honeywell is already supporting Dangote's ambitious expansion plans, helping the refinery more than double its nameplate capacity from 650,000 barrels per day to 1.4 million barrels per day by 20281

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How Forge Plant Cognition Transforms Oil Refinery Operations

Unlike conventional AI solutions that primarily analyze data and generate recommendations, Forge Plant Cognition moves beyond simple monitoring by combining real-time operating data, engineering knowledge and Honeywell's deep process expertise with trusted calculations and physics-based models3

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. The platform uses Dell AI Factory with NVIDIA technologies to support plant optimization, digital twins, anomaly detection and simulation-based planning2

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. NVIDIA Nemotron open models power agents that understand and interpret operational data, while NVIDIA Omniverse libraries help create a digital twin of the plant and its processes for simulation-based training and planning3

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. Additionally, NVIDIA Cosmos open models with the NVIDIA Metropolis VSS Blueprint enable vision AI agents for real-time alerts and detection of anomalies3

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. The platform is designed to deliver value across three critical areas: capturing hidden margin by identifying bottlenecks and optimizing throughput, protecting production by detecting emerging equipment issues and recommending corrective actions to minimize unplanned downtime, and scaling industrial expertise by embedding specialized process knowledge into AI-powered workflows3

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Strategic Implications for Nigeria and Workforce Development

Dangote Petroleum Refinery will integrate its operating data with Honeywell's process expertise and AI-powered optimization capabilities to identify operational constraints, accelerate troubleshooting and enable more informed decisions3

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. Beyond plant performance improvements, the platform will support Dangote's commitment to developing a 70% Nigerian workforce by expanding access to specialized process knowledge2

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. By embedding specialized process knowledge into AI-powered tools, Forge Plant Cognition will help engineers and operators access expert guidance, accelerate problem-solving and build technical capabilities3

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. Rajesh Gattupalli, President of Honeywell Technologies UOP, stated: "By collaborating with Dangote to launch Forge Plant Cognition, we are demonstrating how AI can help transform industrial operations, driving new levels of productivity, reliability and profitability at significant scale"2

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. The launch positions Nigeria as an early adopter of advanced industrial AI capabilities in the energy sector, potentially setting a precedent for other refineries and petrochemical facilities across Africa and beyond to optimize refining operations through similar technologies.