The Dangote Petroleum Refinery has imported crude oil from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the first time, marking a shift in its sourcing strategy.
According to S&P Global Commodity Insights, the refinery purchased two cargoes of UAE crude as it looks beyond Nigeria for supply due to ongoing constraints from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).
Although the refinery was built to process Nigeria’s light sweet crude, it is now expanding the types of crude it uses to support full-scale operations. In 2025, about 70% of its crude came from Nigeria, while 24% was sourced from the United States.
NNPCL had earlier agreed to supply between 13 and 15 cargoes of crude monthly under a naira-for-crude deal to reduce foreign exchange pressure. However, supply challenges have persisted.
The refinery is also planning to process more heavy crude as part of efforts to operate as a global merchant refinery.
Meanwhile, global oil prices, which recently dropped below $70 per barrel, have started rising again following renewed tensions involving the United States and Iran.
