Dangote Oil Refinery is set to import at least five million barrels of U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil for delivery in July, continuing a buying spree that may result in a record volume of WTI imports for June.
The refinery recently awarded tenders for approximately 161,000 barrels per day (bpd) of U.S. crude scheduled for July delivery. This follows earlier agreements for June cargoes amounting to roughly 300,000 bpd, the highest volume of WTI ever booked by the refinery in a single month.
“Nigeria’s Dangote Oil Refinery will import at least five million barrels of U.S. WTI crude oil in July, three trading sources said, extending its buying streak after a potential record tally for June.
“The giant new 650,000 bpd-capacity refinery is expected to bring in around 161,000 bpd of WTI in July, following tenders awarded in recent days, the sources said, building on a record 300,000 bpd booked for June,” the Reuters report stated.
Located in Lagos, the refinery is increasingly relying on foreign crude to meet its operational requirements.
“We can only process what is available from Nigeria, this is a known fact. We must import the remainder,” the report quoted Edwin Devakumar, head of Dangote Oil Refinery, as saying.
Vitol will supply two million barrels for July, Socar (Azerbaijan’s state oil company) another two million, and Glencore the remaining one million. Final volumes could vary if the refinery makes additional spot purchases.
While the refinery’s crude supply is mainly Nigerian, Dangote has steadily imported WTI since March 2024 and has also acquired spot cargoes from Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Algeria, and Brazil this year.
Shipping analytics firm Kpler reported that in April, the refinery set a previous U.S. import record with 173,000 bpd.
The increased acquisition of U.S. crude reflects shifting global market dynamics. Traders have noted that U.S. barrels, particularly WTI, face strong competition in Asia, where spot premiums for UAE’s Murban crude have fallen to a six-month low. Consequently, suppliers are seeking African buyers like Dangote as alternative export destinations.
Industry monitor IIR reported that the refinery has been operating at around 80 per cent capacity since mid-March and aims to increase this to 85 per cent by October.
Although the sellers for the nine million barrels expected in June were not confirmed, tender details are generally not made public.