In a significant reshuffling of Africa’s energy trade landscape, South Africa has officially overtaken Nigeria as the continent’s largest importer of petrol.
This development marks a major turning point, as Nigeria, despite its vast crude oil reserves, has long held the top spot for fuel imports in sub-Saharan Africa.
The shift is largely credited to Nigeria’s recent strides in refining capacity, headlined by the launch of the Dangote Refinery, now Africa’s largest.
Operational since September 2024, the refinery has rapidly transformed Nigeria’s energy profile.
Its ramp-up to 550,000 barrels per day by January 2025 has been instrumental in reducing Nigeria’s dependence on imported petrol, now supplying roughly 60% of the country’s domestic demand.
According to new data from energy consultancy CITAC, Nigeria imported just 3.1 million tonnes of refined petroleum products in the first quarter of 2025.
In contrast, South Africa brought in 4.2 million tonnes over the same period, officially becoming the region’s biggest fuel importer.
“Nigerian imports are dropping as a result of the continued operation of Dangote,” said Elitsa Georgieva, Executive Director at CITAC.
“Since the beginning of this year, South African imports have been consistently the highest in sub-Saharan Africa.”
This marks a dramatic turnaround for Nigeria, which has struggled for decades with malfunctioning state-owned refineries and an unsustainable fuel subsidy regime that crippled local supply chains.
The shift toward self-sufficiency has been further supported by a growing network of modular refineries springing up across the country.
CITAC’s report also highlights a 77.8% year-on-year increase in crude throughput across sub-Saharan African refineries in 2024, with average daily output rising from 382,500 barrels per day in 2023 to 680,100 barrels in 2024.
The Dangote Refinery was the primary driver of this surge. Looking ahead, CITAC forecasts Nigeria’s total refined fuel imports will fall to 6.4 million tonnes in 2025—less than half of South Africa’s projected 15.5 million tonnes.
The Nigerian Economic Summit Group projects this shift could save the country up to $10 billion in foreign exchange this year by slashing import costs.
Meanwhile, South Africa’s climb to the top of the import chart is underpinned by a struggling domestic refining sector.
Almost half of the country’s refining capacity remains idle, with total capacity halved over the past five years due to industrial accidents and chronic underinvestment.
Key facilities remain offline, including Sapref, South Africa’s largest refinery, now under the ownership of the Central Energy Fund, removing 180,000 barrels per day from production.
Likewise, Engen’s 120,000-barrel-per-day plant, now owned by Vitol, has also shut down.
According to Transnet SOC Ltd., South Africa now imports more than 60% of its fuel needs.
With persistent delays in modernizing its refining infrastructure, the country continues to lean heavily on external sources to meet internal fuel demand.
The divergent paths of Nigeria and South Africa underscore a broader shift in Africa’s energy landscape, one driven by infrastructure investment, policy reform, and the urgent need for energy security.
