Refinery
Seaborne petroleum product exports from Nigeria have grown seven-fold since 2023, as output from the Dangote refinery improved regional fuel trade flows and boosted supplies to Europe and Africa, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said on Monday.
Seaborne petroleum product shipments from Nigeria averaged 561,000 barrels per day in the second quarter of 2026, compared with an annual average of 79,000 bpd in 2023, Vortexa data showed.
Of those shipments 350,000 bpd were exported during that period, compared with an annual average of 46,000 bpd in 2023.
Dangote Group’s Dangote Petroleum Refinery, located in the Lekki Free Zone near Lagos, began operations in 2024 and is the country’s largest refinery.
With the increased supply of petroleum products in Nigeria from the country’s largest refinery, imports fell, exports increased, and Nigeria became more self-sufficient in refined petroleum products, EIA said.
Product shipments expanded after operations at Dangote began and again following the completion of maintenance and expansion in February 2026, coinciding with supply constraints out of the Strait of Hormuz, EIA added.
The maintenance increased the facility’s crude oil distillation capacity from 650,000 bpd to 700,000 bpd.
Intra-Nigerian shipments rose to 211,000 bpd in the second quarter of 2026, up from 81,000 bpd in 2025 and 33,000 bpd in 2023.
Nigeria’s seaborne petroleum product exports to Europe rose to 130,000 bpd in the second quarter of 2026 from 40,000 bpd in 2025 and 15,000 bpd in 2023, while exports to Africa climbed to nearly 120,000 bpd from 89,000 bpd a year earlier.
Nigeria imported nearly 400,000 bpd of petroleum products in 2023, and seaborne imports fell to less than 130,000 bpd in the second quarter of 2026.
REUTERS
