Table of Contents
Dangote Petroleum Refinery, owned by Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote, is seizing global market share as fuel-starved nations in the Middle East step up imports. The 650,000-barrels-per-day plant has accelerated exports of petrol, diesel, and aviation fuel, filling a supply gap created by maintenance closures at Saudi Aramco and Kuwait facilities.
Senior refinery officials confirmed that in August alone, Dangote exported large volumes of premium motor spirit (PMS), diesel, and jet fuel to foreign buyers. Between June and July, the Lagos-based complex supplied two long-range cargoes to the Gulf, according to Argus Media. The surge comes as the Middle East faces its heaviest refinery turnaround season in years, tightening gasoline supplies ahead of peak fourth-quarter demand.
Saudi Arabia, Kuwait drive regional import boom
Saudi Aramco, the world’s biggest oil producer, has already taken offline key plants, including its 400,000 bpd Jizan refinery, and will shut its 460,000 bpd Satorp refinery in Jubail for two months in November-December. Maintenance is also slated at its Riyadh refinery later this year. Meanwhile, Kuwait National Petroleum Co. will shut several units at its 490,000 bpd Mina Abdullah refinery in October.
The squeeze is forcing Gulf nations to buy more fuel abroad. Ship-tracking data from Vortexa shows the region’s gasoline imports jumped to 1.03 million tonnes in July, the highest in seven months. Saudi Arabia boosted gasoline purchases to 478,000 tonnes in July from 144,000 in June, while the UAE imported 864,000 tonnes in August, up from 648,000 a month earlier.
This demand spike has opened new opportunities for Nigeria’s refining giant. With European Union sanctions disrupting flows from India’s Nayara Energy, Middle Eastern refiners and traders are increasingly turning to Dangote’s complex as an alternative supplier.
Dangote refinery scales output, eyes global dominance
Despite industry chatter about operational setbacks, Dangote Group has denied technical issues, saying the refinery is on track to scale capacity to 700,000 bpd by December. Since launching in 2024, the plant has expanded beyond diesel and naphtha into gasoline, polymers, and jet fuel. Exports already reach Europe, the U.S., and West Africa, with projections to generate $30 billion in annual revenues by 2026 across fuels, fertilizers, and petrochemicals.
In February, Dangote disclosed the sale of two aviation fuel cargoes to Saudi Aramco, underscoring its growing foothold in global energy markets. More recently, the $20 billion petroleum refinery confirmed it exported around 1 million tonnes of petrol between June and July, transforming Nigeria into a net exporter of refined products for the first time.
The billionaire industrialist, whose fortune is valued at $28.7 billion, has positioned the refinery as a symbol of African energy independence. In August, Dangote signed a petrochemical partnership with Japan’s Mitsui Chemicals and invested $470 million in compressed natural gas trucks to overhaul Nigeria’s fuel distribution.
