The Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lekki, Nigeria, is working harder to buy more crude oil to meet its output goals.
By June 2025, the refinery, currently producing 500,000 barrels per day (bpd), hopes to have reached its maximum capacity of 650,000 bpd.
The refinery must purchase the remaining petroleum from outside markets since the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), which supplies about 350,000 barrels per day, cannot deliver enough crude domestically.
This development emphasises how difficult it is to secure a sufficient supply of petroleum for Nigeria’s growing refining industry.
The Naira-for-Crude project provides 450,000 barrels per day for local refineries; nevertheless, the combined daily demand of facilities such as the Dangote refinery and others amounts to approximately 770,500 barrels per day, resulting in a notable deficit.
The Dangote Refinery is building eight more storage tanks to fill this gap, boosting its capacity to store crude by roughly 1 billion litres, or 6.29 million barrels. This growth is essential to allow for the import of crude that is required to reach and sustain optimal production levels.
Nigeria’s oil sector is complicated, especially when it comes to striking a balance between indigenous output and refining capabilities, as demonstrated by the refinery’s calculated decision to import crude oil.
Securing an adequate supply of crude oil is still essential to the Dangote Refinery’s performance as it moves closer to realising its full operating capacity and lessening Nigeria’s need for imported refined petroleum products.
