Dangote Refinery imports crude oil from UAE

To compliment its crude oil requirement volume, Dangote Refinery has purchased two cargoes of the commodity from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), marking its entry into the Middle Eastern crude market. The purchase underscores the refinery’s strategy to diversify supply ahead of its planned expansion to 1.4 million barrels per day.

According to S&P Global Commodity Insights, the purchase represents a significant shift for the refinery, which has traditionally sourced crude from the country, other African producers and the United States.

Although the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) supplies between 13 and 15 cargoes of crude monthly to Dangote under the federal government’s naira-for-crude arrangement, the refinery has increasingly turned to overseas suppliers because of insufficient domestic crude availability and operational bottlenecks at export terminals.

The latest purchase also follows improved stability in Middle Eastern oil exports after shipping through the Strait of Hormuz normalised following the easing of tensions between the United States and Iran, improving the availability of Gulf crude in international markets.

The diversification reflects both operational flexibility and commercial strategy. Middle Eastern crude grades are generally heavier than Nigeria’s light sweet blends and can improve refinery economics when blended with lighter barrels, giving refiners greater flexibility to optimise yields of diesel, jet fuel and other petroleum products.

The development comes despite gradual improvements in Nigeria’s oil production. According to OPEC’s latest Monthly Oil Market Report, Nigeria produced about 1.5 million barrels of crude oil per day in May, remaining below levels needed to comfortably meet export commitments while supplying growing domestic refining demand.

The Chief Executive Officer, Dangote Refinery, David Bird, had previously acknowledged that inadequate crude availability had compelled the refinery to source additional supplies from international markets.

“We definitely want to heavy up the barrel. We will be in the crude blending game. So you can easily imagine that at 1.4 million barrels per day we could process 30 per cent Middle Eastern grades on each train,” Bird said.

According to S&P Global Commodities at Sea data, about 70 per cent of the refinery’s crude imports in 2025 originated from Nigeria, while 24 per cent came from the United States.

According to sources in the facility, the refinery’s first purchase of Middle Eastern crude marks more than a routine cargo acquisition; it signals a strategic shift towards a more diversified global sourcing model.