The Dangote Petroleum Refinery has acquired two crude oil cargoes from the United Arab Emirates, marking the first time the facility has sourced feedstock from the Middle East as it broadens its crude supply options amid ongoing challenges with local availability.
A report by S&P Global Commodity Insights stated that the two shipments represent the refinery’s inaugural crude purchases from a Middle Eastern supplier. Until now, the 700,000-barrels-per-day refinery has relied largely on crude grades from Nigeria, other African producers, and the United States.
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According to the report, the purchases came after crude exports from the Middle East resumed following an interim peace agreement between the United States and Iran, which restored confidence in the safety of shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz.
Although the refinery was built primarily to process Nigeria’s light sweet crude, it has gradually widened the range of crude grades it uses as production increases. S&P Global noted that a supply arrangement with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company guarantees between 13 and 15 cargoes of Nigerian crude each month, with payments made in naira to reduce exposure to foreign exchange fluctuations.
However, the agreement has been affected by limited crude availability and operational disruptions at export terminals. The report recalled that Dangote Refinery Chief Executive Officer, David Bird, had previously explained that these supply challenges forced the refinery to seek alternative crude sources outside Nigeria.
S&P Global also noted that the refinery’s planned expansion will significantly increase its demand for crude. Dangote aims to raise the plant’s refining capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day by the end of 2028, enabling it to process nearly 80 per cent of Nigeria’s current daily crude oil output.
Earlier this year, Bird revealed that the refinery intends to increase the proportion of heavier crude grades in its feedstock mix.
“We definitely want to heavy up the barrel,” Bird said in April.
He added, “We will be in the crude blending game. So you can easily imagine at 1.4 million b/d we could process 30 per cent Middle Eastern grades on each train.”
S&P Global further reported that the refinery has continued expanding the variety of crude grades it processes as part of its strategy to operate as a fully merchant refinery. In 2025, approximately 70 per cent of the refinery’s crude imports came from Nigeria, while about 24 per cent were sourced from the United States.
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