Despite being Africa’s largest oil producer, Nigeria has struggled to consistently provide crude feedstock to the 650,000-barrel-per-day Dangote Petroleum Refinery, forcing it to look abroad to sustain operations.
The Dangote Refinery recently hosted Mrs. Maureen Ogbonna, Coordinator of the Technical Committee of the One-Stop Shop for the Sale of Crude and Refined Products in Naira initiative, during an official visit to the facility.
Ogbonna, who led a delegation to the refinery, described it as “a breath of fresh air” with a transformative impact across virtually every sector of the Nigerian economy.
While applauding the technical committee’s role in supporting President Bola Tinubu’s naira-for-crude initiative, Aliko Dangote praised the policy’s positive effect on the economy.
He noted that the crude-for-naira swap deal has helped lower petroleum product prices, reduced pressure on the U.S. dollar, and contributed to stabilizing the local currency.
However, Dangote acknowledged that due to ongoing shortages of domestic crude oil, the refinery has increasingly had to rely on imports from the United States in recent months to sustain operations.
As a result, U.S. suppliers have become a key fallback, highlighting both Nigeria’s supply gaps and the growing role of international markets in sustaining one of Africa’s largest energy investments.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Nigeria spent ₦1.19 trillion on crude oil imports in the first quarter of 2025, making it the country’s third most imported commodity during the period—despite being Africa’s top oil producer.
The contradiction highlights persistent supply gaps to local refineries, especially the Dangote Petroleum Refinery.
Findings show that the Dangote Refinery is projected to import 17.65 million barrels of crude oil between April and July 2025, beginning with about 3.65 million barrels already delivered over the past two months, amid ongoing allocations under the Federal Government’s naira-for-crude policy.
As of March 2025, the refinery had received over three million barrels of U.S. crude in a single month, according to Bloomberg.
Beyond American crude, the refinery has diversified its sources by importing Angola’s Pazflor grade and Algeria’s Saharan Blend, both supplied by Glencore Plc.
A breakdown compiled by Punch reveals that the refinery shifted from full reliance on Nigerian crude in December 2024 to importing 27.1 million barrels from the United States over seven months—compared to 46.2 million barrels obtained from the Nigerian government in the same period.
