By Abiola Olawale
Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man and president of the Dangote Group, has finally spoken out about the persistent reliance of his $20 billion Dangote Petroleum Refinery on crude oil imports from the United States.
Dangote confirmed that the refinery, located in the Lekki Free Zone near Lagos, is increasingly dependent on U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude to meet its massive production demands.
Dangote also revealed that the 650,000-barrel-per-day refinery facility is grappling with a domestic crude shortage that’s forcing it to look across the Atlantic to keep operations going.
Dangote was quoted as saying this while playing host to the Technical Committee of the One-Stop Shop for the sale of crude.
In a statement issued by the firm, Dangote stated this when the Coordinator of the OSS Technical Committee, Mrs Maureen Ogbonna, led a delegation to the refinery, which she described as a breath of fresh air, impacting virtually every sector of the economy.
According to the statement, Dangote applauded the technical committee for its role in supporting the implementation of President Bola Tinubu’s laudable naira-for-crude initiative.
He commended the positive impact of the naira-for-crude swap deal on the Nigerian economy, noting that it has led to a reduction in petroleum product prices, eased pressure on the dollar, and ensured the stability of the local currency, among others.
“However, he noted that due to a shortage of domestic crude oil, the refinery has increasingly relied on imports from the United States to meet its needs in recent months,” the statement read partly.
The New Diplomat reports that this comes after reports emerged that the Dangote Refinery is projected to import a total of 17.65 million barrels of crude oil between April and July 2025, beginning with about 3.65 million barrels already delivered in the past two months.
