Nigeria’s Dangote Refinery, owned by Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, has commenced exporting refined petroleum products to neighboring West African countries, according to a report by *Bloomberg* on Tuesday.
However, controversy surrounds the refinery’s crude oil sourcing. While the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) supplies crude to the refinery in Naira following President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s directive, the export deals are reportedly conducted in dollars.
*Bloomberg* cited data from Vortexa, Kpler, Precise Intelligence, and ship-tracking platforms, reporting that a tanker named *The CL Jane Austen* recently transported over 300,000 barrels of gasoline from the Dangote Refinery to waters near Togo. The vessel is currently stationed off the coast of Lome, a hub for ship-to-ship transfers.
This development follows comments from Ghana’s National Petroleum Authority Chairman at the OTL Africa Downstream Oil Conference in Lagos. He noted that importing from Nigeria rather than Europe would reduce costs by eliminating high freight charges. He added that Dangote’s full refining capacity of 650,000 barrels per day (bpd) would exceed Nigeria’s domestic consumption, enabling export opportunities to nearby countries.
Reports also suggest that Dangote Refinery is in advanced discussions to supply fuel to South Africa, Angola, Namibia, Niger, Chad, Burkina Faso, and the Central African Republic.
Despite the reports, Dangote Refinery has yet to make an official announcement regarding the exports. Meanwhile, it recently signed an agreement with the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) to supply 60 million liters of fuel weekly, leading to a slight reduction in fuel prices in Nigeria last week.
Economists speculate that as Dangote Refinery scales production and fuel prices ease, Nigeria may experience a decline in inflationary pressures in the months ahead.
