Dangote Refinery To Stop Crude Oil Imports By December

The Dangote oil refinery is aiming to halt crude oil imports by December 2025 and switch entirely to Nigerian-sourced crude, according to a report by Bloomberg.

The Lagos-based refinery, which has a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, intends to fully rely on domestic crude by the end of the year—replacing hundreds of thousands of barrels per day of imported oil.

Bloomberg reported that in June, the refinery sourced about half of its crude from local producers. These producers are expected to increase supply as their existing foreign commitments wind down.

Devakumar Edwin, vice president at Dangote Industries and head of the refinery operations, confirmed the plan.

“We expect some of the long-term contracts will expire. Personally, and as a company, we expect that before the end of the year, we can transition 100 percent to local crude,” Edwin was quoted.

PUNCH recalls that the refinery’s founder, Aliko Dangote, recently noted that the facility still depended heavily on U.S. crude supplies, despite the existence of a naira-for-crude arrangement.

Meanwhile, Nigeria’s oil regulator, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), stated in its 2024 report that oil producers had protested directives requiring them to fulfill Domestic Crude Supply Obligations (DCSO) to Dangote and other local refineries.

The availability of crude for local refining has also been affected by existing foreign supply contracts, widespread crude oil theft, and pipeline attacks in the Niger Delta.

According to Edwin, the refinery has been importing crude from several countries, including Brazil, Angola, Ghana, and Equatorial Guinea.

However, he added that “improved relations between the refinery, local oil traders, and the government will result in a steady supply of Nigerian crude.”

The refinery expects a substantial increase in domestic crude supply in the coming months.

Data compiled by Bloomberg shows that in June, 53 percent of the refinery’s crude was sourced from Nigerian producers, while 47 percent came from the United States.

Edwin also revealed that the plant is currently processing 550,000 barrels of crude per day.

According to a list of cargo allocations obtained by Bloomberg, Dangote was scheduled to take five cargoes from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) in July, and the same volume is expected in August. Each cargo contains nearly one million barrels of crude.

Aliko Dangote’s $20 billion refinery was built to end the cycle of exporting Nigeria’s crude to Europe for refining, only for it to return as expensive imported fuel.

Although still ramping up operations, the refinery has already started to turn Nigeria into a net exporter of petroleum products, despite initial challenges in securing enough domestic crude. This early phase required importing large volumes of crude from overseas due to shortfalls from local suppliers.