Nigeria’s Dangote Oil Refinery is set to import at least five million barrels of U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil in July, continuing a strong buying run that could see June become its highest-ever month for American oil intake.
According to a Reuters report published Friday, the Lagos-based refinery recently awarded tenders for the delivery of approximately 161,000 barrels per day (bpd) of WTI crude for July.
This follows earlier deals in June that totaled around 300,000 bpd, the largest single-month volume of WTI crude the plant has booked since it began operations.
“Nigeria’s Dangote oil refinery will import at least five million barrels of U.S. WTI crude oil in July,” three trading sources told Reuters, “extending its buying spree after a potential record tally for June.”
The report added that “the giant new 650,000 barrel per day capacity oil refinery is set to import around 161,000 bpd of WTI in July after awarding tenders in recent days, the sources said, off the back of a record 300,000 bpd booked in its June tenders.”
The refinery, which started production earlier this year, continues to lean heavily on imported crude to meet its needs due to limited domestic supply.
“We can take only what they are giving to us from Nigeria, this is a known fact. We have to import the rest,” said Edwin Devakumar, head of the Dangote Oil Refinery.
The three trading sources cited in the report confirmed that Vitol will supply two million barrels for the July shipment, Azerbaijan’s state-owned oil firm Socar will provide another two million, and Glencore will deliver the remaining one million barrels.
The final volume could still increase if the refinery purchases additional spot cargoes before shipment.
While Nigerian crude remains the core feedstock for the facility, Dangote began bringing in U.S. WTI in March 2024.
It has also added spot cargoes from Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Algeria, and Brazil to its sourcing mix this year.
Shipping data from analytics firm Kpler shows the refinery had previously set a record of 173,000 bpd of WTI crude in April.
The move to increase U.S. crude imports reflects changes in global market conditions.
With U.S. barrels, especially WTI, facing lower demand in Asia, where premiums for UAE’s Murban crude have recently dropped to a six-month low, sellers are redirecting volumes to African buyers like Dangote.
Industry data provider IIR noted the refinery has been operating at roughly 80% capacity since mid-March, with plans to reach 85% by October as operations continue to scale up.
While the sellers behind the nine million barrels of crude expected in June have not been named, Reuters stated that such tender details are typically confidential.
