- Game-Changer: Dangote refinery boosts Nigeria’s local fuel production.
- Global Shift: Europe faces declining petrol exports to Africa’s largest economy.
The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has highlighted the transformative impact of Nigeria’s Dangote Petroleum Refinery on the global petroleum market, particularly in Europe. According to a report released on Wednesday, the refinery’s ramped-up Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) production and exports are reshaping fuel trade flows across international markets.
The $20 billion facility, operational since January 2024, began producing PMS in September. With a capacity to refine 650,000 barrels per day, it has already exported petrol, diesel, and aviation fuel within and beyond Africa. OPEC stated, “Nigeria’s new refinery is freeing up gasoline volumes in international markets, forcing flow adjustments and the search for new destinations for Europe’s exports.”
The report noted that Nigeria, previously reliant on European imports for its domestic fuel needs, has seen reduced petroleum product imports, particularly in the last quarter of 2024. This shift has improved the country’s external sector outlook, coinciding with rising domestic crude production, which hit 1.507 million barrels per day in December.
Bloomberg ranks Dangote Refinery above Europe’s largest refineries, including Shell’s Pernis facility in the Netherlands (404,000 bpd) and TotalEnergies’ Antwerp facility in Belgium (338,000 bpd). The refinery’s capacity represents a critical step in Nigeria’s energy independence while creating ripples across the Atlantic Basin’s fuel markets.
With inventories in Europe’s Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp hub remaining high and the gasoline balance lengthening due to lower exports, the Dangote Refinery underscores Nigeria’s growing influence in the global energy sector.
