Dangote petrol re-imported into Nigeria via Lomé

Nigerian fuel marketers are increasingly importing refined petroleum products produced by the Dangote Petroleum Refinery through the offshore ship-to-ship (STS) trading hub in Lomé, Togo, according to an official of S&P Global Energy, Matthew Tracey-Cook.

Speaking on Thursday during a Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria (MEMAN) webinar titled “West Africa Pricing and Flows in the Context of the War,” Tracey-Cook said the trend persists despite the refinery’s growing local production and supply, suggesting possible differences in domestic and international pricing dynamics.

He explained that products refined by Dangote are exported to the offshore Lomé hub and subsequently re-imported into Nigeria by marketers.

“Over the last six months, if you look at the volume of products on a waterborne basis that’s imported directly into Nigeria, Dangote production has become increasingly dominant,” he said.

According to S&P Global data, Dangote-origin products accounted for more than 70 to 80 per cent of waterborne fuel imports into Nigeria between March and May 2026.

“For several months, from March until May, we saw well over 70 to 80 per cent of the volumes that were imported into Nigeria actually originated from Dangote; from their coastal Dangote volumes which were re-imported,” Tracey-Cook added.

He noted that a similar pattern has emerged in diesel supplies, underscoring the refinery’s increasing influence in Nigeria’s fuel market.

Despite Dangote’s growing direct supply to the domestic market, Tracey-Cook said the offshore Lomé hub remains strategically important and is still handling volumes slightly above 2024 levels.

According to him, the hub functions as a major transshipment centre where large tankers discharge cargoes onto smaller vessels capable of accessing ports across West Africa that cannot accommodate bigger ships.

“Lomé has become an increasingly important transshipment hub for filling regional shortages across the region. It serves an important purpose, given that many ports in West Africa don’t have the capacity to take a fully laden medium-range vessel,” he said.

The S&P Global official also highlighted pricing trends in the region, noting that petrol prices in West Africa have become significantly higher than those in Europe since the onset of the Middle East crisis.

He added that Dangote’s petrol prices remain closely aligned with benchmarks at the Lomé hub, with price differentials between both locations creating opportunities for effective risk management.

Tracey-Cook described the Dangote refinery and the Lomé STS hub as the two most significant fuel supply centres in West Africa.

“These two locations, the FOB Dangote market and the STS Lomé market, are the two largest and most important regional hubs of supply in the region as a whole,” he said.

He further noted that the ongoing US-Iran conflict has reinforced Dangote’s strategic role in global energy markets, particularly in supplying jet fuel to Europe.

According to him, Europe was previously more than 50 per cent dependent on jet fuel from the Persian Gulf, and disruptions in that supply chain caused benchmark prices to surge above $1,800 per metric tonne.

Tracey-Cook said Dangote responded by significantly increasing exports, becoming the world’s largest single exporter of jet fuel in May 2026 in terms of refined product capacity.

S&P Global data also showed record Dangote exports to destinations outside West Africa between April and June 2026, including shipments to the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and South Africa.

The development comes months after fuel marketers alleged that the Dangote refinery sold petrol to international traders at prices about N65 per litre lower than those offered to marketers in Nigeria.

The Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN) and the Petroleum Products Retail Outlet Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN) made the claims in November 2025.

However, the Dangote refinery denied selling petrol cheaper in Togo than in Nigeria, insisting that the allegations were unfounded.