The Dangote Petroleum Refinery has, for the first time, purchased crude oil from the United Arab Emirates, marking a significant shift in its sourcing strategy as it seeks to address persistent domestic supply constraints.
According to a report by S&P Global Commodity Insights, the 700,000-barrels-per-day refinery acquired two cargoes of UAE crude—its first-ever imports from the Middle East. The move expands the refinery’s feedstock sources beyond its traditional reliance on Nigerian, African, and United States crude grades.
The report stated that the purchases followed the resumption of stable crude exports from the Middle East after an interim peace agreement between the United States and Iran restored confidence in shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
Although the refinery was designed primarily to process Nigeria’s light sweet crude, it has increasingly diversified its crude supply as production ramps up.
An existing agreement with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) guarantees the refinery between 13 and 15 cargoes of Nigerian crude each month, with payments made in naira to reduce foreign exchange exposure. However, the arrangement has been affected by limited crude availability and operational disruptions at export terminals.
Dangote Refinery Chief Executive Officer, David Bird, had previously disclosed that these supply challenges forced the company to source additional crude from international markets.
The refinery’s crude demand is also expected to rise significantly as it pursues an ambitious expansion plan. Dangote aims to double its refining capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day by the end of 2028, a level that would enable it to process nearly 80 per cent of Nigeria’s current daily crude oil production.
Speaking 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,” he said in April.
“We will be in the crude blending game. So you can easily imagine at 1.4 million barrels per day, we could process 30 per cent Middle Eastern grades on each train.”
S&P Global noted that the refinery is steadily broadening its crude slate 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 24 per cent were sourced from the United States. The latest UAE purchases mark a new chapter in the refinery’s global crude procurement strategy.
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