LAGOS, June 29 – Dangote Petroleum Refinery has purchased two crude oil cargoes from the United Arab Emirates, marking its first import of Middle Eastern crude as it widens its supply sources amid ongoing challenges with domestic crude availability.
According to S&P Global Commodity Insights, the two cargoes are the first the 700,000 barrels per day refinery has sourced from the Middle East. Until now, the refinery had relied mainly on crude from Nigeria, other African producers and the United States.
The purchases come after oil exports from the Middle East resumed following an interim peace agreement between the United States and Iran, which restored confidence in shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
Although the refinery was built to process Nigeria’s light sweet crude, it has continued to expand the range of crude grades it can refine as production increases. An agreement with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company guarantees between 13 and 15 cargoes of Nigerian crude each month in naira, helping to reduce foreign exchange costs.
However, limited crude supply and operational issues at export terminals have made it difficult to meet the refinery’s growing demand. Chief Executive Officer David Bird had earlier said these challenges pushed the company to source additional crude from outside Nigeria.
Dangote also plans to increase the refinery’s capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day by the end of 2028. Bird said the company intends to process a larger share of heavier crude grades as part of that expansion.
According to S&P Global, about 70% of the refinery’s crude imports in 2025 came from Nigeria, while 24% were supplied by the United States as the refinery continued to diversify its feedstock.
