Nigeria becomes a net exporter of petrol as Dangote's refinery sells 44,000 barrels during March

NIGERIA has become a net exporter of refined petrol for the first time in her history this week after the Dangote Refinery in Lagos exported about 44,000 barrels of produce to neighbouring African countries during the course of March.

Dangote Industries, which operates Africa's largest petroleum refinery at Lekki in Lagos State, is a major player in the Nigerian oil industry. Since the start of the current Middle East crisis, the Dangote refinery has had to increase petrol prices four times as a result of the rising cost of crude oil on the global market precipitated by the US/Israeli war with Iran.

However, following the closure of the Straits of Hormuz, global crude supplies have been threatened, which in turn has led to increased demand for Nigerian petroleum. However, with Nigeria only producing about 1.5m barrels a day at the moment, the country has not been able to meet this increased demand, as well as meet the domestic of the Dangote refinery.

Faced with the twin challenge of a surge in both domestic and international demand, the 650,000 barrels-a-day Dangote refinery has been working flat out. As a result, it exported about 44,000 barrels per day (bpd) in March, resulting in a surplus of roughly 3,000 bpd for the month.

This shift from petrol import to exports, reflects a structural transformation in Nigeria’s oil trade, with positive implications for foreign exchange earnings, energy security and regional fuel supply dynamics. Data from Kpler further revealed that Nigeria’s petrol imports plunged to 41,000 bpd in March, the lowest level on record, highlighting the rapid displacement of imports by local refining.

In a significant expansion of its export reach, the Dangote refinery also delivered a 317,000-barrel cargo of petrol to Mozambique, its first shipment to East Africa.  Another consignment is expected to be delivered to Beira in April, underscoring growing regional demand as buyers seek alternatives to Middle Eastern supplies amid ongoing geopolitical tensions.

Last September, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, the president of the Dangote Group, had projected that his refinery would turn Nigeria into a net exporter of petrol while ending decades of fuel scarcity. He said that the recent development validated his projection, as for the first time ever, Nigeria was now exporting petrol.