The Dangote Petroleum Refinery has emerged as a game-changer in Africa’s energy market, with the capacity to meet diesel and aviation fuel demand across West and Central Africa, according to S&P Global Commodity Insights. Speaking at a webinar organised by the Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria (MEMAN), Gary Clark, an official of S&P Global, revealed that the refinery has already exported significant volumes of diesel and jet fuel to countries within the region. He noted that before the refinery commenced operations, much of Africa’s fuel demand was met through heavy reliance on imports from Europe and other parts of the world.
Clark explained that the refinery’s operations have altered trade flows, retaining large volumes of diesel within Africa while making jet fuel available for both regional consumption and exports to distant markets. He stressed that the development has significantly reduced dependence on foreign imports, particularly at a time when Europe is grappling with inflation, slower economic growth, and the impact of geopolitical disruptions such as the Russia-Ukraine war and Middle East tensions. However, he cautioned that outages and routine maintenance at the refinery could still cause volatility in the global fuel market.
During the event, the Head of Economic Intelligence, Research and Regulation at MEMAN, Mrs Ogechi Nkwoji, presented on the importance of Lomé, Togo, as a strategic offshore hub for petroleum distribution. She explained that Lomé evolved into a key transit point due to onshore bottlenecks and shrinking refining capacity across the continent. Large cargoes are often discharged into floating storage facilities offshore Togo, from which smaller vessels transport fuel to regional buyers, particularly in Nigeria.
Adding further perspective, Matthew Tracey-Cook, Senior Price Reporter for EMEA Gasoline & West Africa Refined Products at S&P Global, highlighted the refinery’s growing influence on global markets. He noted that weaker European exports to West Africa have softened crack spreads compared to the post-COVID and early Russia-Ukraine war period. He also recalled how an outage at Dangote’s Fluid Catalytic Cracking unit in August triggered a sharp surge in gasoline cracks from about $13 to above $17 per barrel, underscoring the refinery’s critical role in the Atlantic basin fuel market.
With its massive output capacity, the Dangote Refinery is not only reshaping Africa’s fuel supply chain but also increasingly dictating market trends beyond the continent. Industry experts agree that the facility has become indispensable to regional energy security and is now a central pillar of the global petroleum trade.
