The Dangote Petroleum Refinery has received its second crude oil cargo from Ghana, reinforcing a deliberate pivot toward West African feedstocks as the plant reduces intake and prepares for major maintenance. The shift comes as the refinery trims purchases from Europe and recalibrates its crude slate for operational stability.
West African Grades Dominate Crude Intake
Industry data reviewed by Punch shows that the November shipment carried Ghana’s Sankofa grade, marking the second time the refinery has sourced crude from the country. Between September and November, Dangote’s crude receipts averaged 380,000 barrels per day, down by about 30 per cent from peak July–August volumes.
Kpler data indicates that November deliveries were overwhelmingly Nigerian Bonny Light, Amenam, Forcados, Utapate, and Qua Iboe, with Sankofa emerging as the only non-Nigerian grade. Analysts say Dangote Refinery now prioritises regional grades because they offer shorter voyage times, lower logistics risk and more flexible scheduling during maintenance.
Maintenance Drives Lower Runs, Higher Imports
The reduction in intake mirrors ongoing technical adjustments. The Residue Fluid Catalytic Cracking (RFCC) unit entered a two-month shutdown on 4 December, following earlier regenerator-related disruptions. A one-week Crude Distillation Unit (CDU) outage is also scheduled for late January.
With the RFCC offline until February, Dangote will cut petrol production from 100,000–130,000 bpd to about 80,000 bpd, relying solely on the Reformer and Isomer units to sustain output. As a result, Nigeria’s petrol imports surged to 300,000 bpd in November, the highest in 14 months. Most of these barrels came from European suppliers in the Netherlands and Belgium.
Dangote Moves to Stabilise Market Supply
To avoid festive-season shortages, Dangote Refinery has pledged to supply 1.5 billion litres of petrol each month in December 2025 and January 2026 equivalent to 50 million litres daily. President and Chief Executive Aliko Dangote said the commitment aligns with the firm’s tradition of ensuring nationwide fuel availability during high-demand periods.
He added that the refinery will increase supply to 1.7 billion litres in February, translating to 60 million litres per day. Analysts expect refinery runs to rebound once maintenance concludes, with throughput potentially exceeding 500,000 bpd by April 2026.
