The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) says the production of petroleum products by the Dangote Petroleum Refinery has reduced the importation of refined products from Europe.
The refinery’s growing Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) production and exports are reshaping trade flows, challenging Europe’s dominance in fuel exports to Nigeria.
Operational since January 2024, the $20 billion Dangote Refinery, with a daily refining capacity of 650,000 barrels, is Africa’s largest. The facility began producing PMS in September 2024, marking a significant shift for Nigeria, which previously relied heavily on fuel imports. By exporting petrol, diesel, and aviation fuel to both African and international markets, the refinery has disrupted established supply chains.
According to OPEC’s latest report, the ramp-up in Dangote’s gasoline production is reducing Nigeria’s dependency on European imports and freeing up surplus gasoline volumes globally. “The ongoing operational ramp-up efforts at Nigeria’s new Dangote refinery and its gasoline (petrol) exports to the international market will likely weigh further on the European gasoline market.
“Continued gasoline production in Nigeria, a country that has relied heavily on imports to meet its domestic fuel needs in the past, will most likely continue to free up gasoline volumes in international markets which will call for new destinations and flow adjustments for the extra volumes going forward,” OPEC stated.
This shift has led to declining petroleum product imports into Nigeria and affected Europe’s gasoline inventory levels. The Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) storage hub saw high gasoline stocks, with expectations of further builds due to sluggish winter demand and competition from the Atlantic Basin.
OPEC’s Monthly Oil Market Report also noted that Nigeria’s average daily crude production reached 1.507 million barrels in December 2024, marking a 12,000bpd increase from November.
Bloomberg data further underscores Dangote Refinery’s prominence, ranking it above Europe’s largest refineries by capacity. While Shell’s Pernis refinery in the Netherlands, Europe’s largest, has a capacity of 404,000 barrels per day, Dangote Refinery surpasses it by over 246,000 barrels.
