Nigeria's Dangote refinery imports first crude oil from UAE

Nigeria’s Dangote Petroleum Refinery has imported two cargoes of crude oil from the United Arab Emirates this month, marking its first ever purchase from a Middle Eastern supplier, S&P Global Commodity Insights reported last week.

The refinery had until now mostly favoured Nigerian crude. A report by S&P Global Commodity Insights said Dangote imported 70% of its crude from Nigeria and 24% from the United States in 2025.

But the refinery has sought to diversify its sources as it expanded its operations. Earlier this month, Dangote hit the milestone of 700,000 barrels of crude oil processed per day.

The refinery says it plans to double output to 1.4 million barrels per day within the next 30 months, a move that could make it one of the largest refining facilities in the world.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company had guaranteed between 13 and 15 monthly cargoes of Nigerian crude to the refinery, incentivising Dangote to process Nigeria's domestic crude but the country is struggling with supply constraints.

Dangote’s UAE imports also capitalise on revitalised oil supplies from the Middle East after an interim peace deal between the US and Iran helped resume traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.