Agency Report
West Africa is rapidly developing into a regional refining and trading hub, driven largely by the impact of Nigeria’s 650,000 barrels-per-day Dangote Petroleum Refinery and broader government efforts to achieve refined product self-sufficiency and expand export capacity, according to the report by Argus Media.
The report noted that the independently owned refinery has significantly altered both regional and global refined product markets, sharply reducing West Africa’s dependence on imported fuels and reshaping trade flows across the sub-region.
Since petrol production began at the Dangote refinery in September 2024, Nigeria, which was previously West Africa’s largest gasoline importer, has recorded a steep drop in fuel imports.
According to Kpler data cited by Argus Media, Nigeria’s net petrol imports fell to a historic low of 40,000 barrels per day in September this year, down from 332,000 barrels per day a year earlier.
At the same time, Nigeria has strengthened its position as a supplier of refined products to the region. The report said the country’s net middle distillate exports reached a record 145,000 barrels per day in July, compared with 82,000 barrels per day earlier in the year, adding that Nigeria has broadly remained a net exporter of middle distillates since May 2024.
As a consequence of Dangote’s output, Argus noted that West Africa is importing significantly less petrol and middle distillates, including diesel and jet fuel. Year-to-date data show that petrol imports into the region, stretching from Mauritania to Angola, declined by a quarter to 337,000 barrels per day, while jet fuel imports dropped to 4,000 barrels per day, the lowest level since Kpler began records in 2016.
Diesel imports into West Africa also fell to a five-year low of 162,000 barrels per day.
Argus Media stated that Dangote has “inarguably transformed regional oil product market dynamics”, adding that the refinery has remained robust despite several maintenance periods and still has room to capture a larger share of Nigeria’s domestic petrol market in the coming year.
However, the report contrasted Dangote’s performance with the struggles of Nigeria’s state-owned refining assets. It recalled that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited restarted a 60,000 barrels-per-day unit of the 210,000 barrels-per-day Port Harcourt refinery late in 2024, only for it to shut again in May this year. Similarly, the 125,000 barrels-per-day Warri refinery resumed operations in December 2024 but went offline the following month, highlighting ongoing challenges with rehabilitating long-idle refineries.
Local media quoted the report as saying that beyond Nigeria, other West African countries are also expanding refining capacity, further reducing the region’s reliance on European fuel traders.
It added that in Angola, the 30,000-barrel-per-day Cabinda refinery has commenced operations, producing mainly diesel and jet fuel for domestic use, a development expected to curb the country’s middle distillate imports.
In Ghana, efforts are ongoing to restore operations at the 45,000-barrel-per-day Tema Oil Refinery, while private refineries continue to operate intermittently. However, Argus Media said large-scale new refining projects across the region face long timelines, making existing and near-complete refineries in Nigeria and neighbouring countries critical to West Africa’s ambition to play a bigger role in the downstream oil market.
The report concluded that the pace of further change in 2026 would largely depend on the performance of operating refineries, with Dangote remaining central to West Africa’s emergence as a refining and trading hub.