Dangote Refinery Resumes U.S. Crude Imports After Three-Month Pause

The Lagos-based Dangote Refinery has resumed importing crude oil from the United States after a three-month hiatus, as it ramps up production levels.

According to anonymous sources, the refinery recently purchased around two million barrels of WTI Midland crude from Chevron Corp. The shipment is expected to arrive at the 650,000-barrel-per-day petrochemical facility in Lagos next month.

Earlier this year, the refinery consistently imported one to two shipments of U.S. crude each month, supplementing its use of domestic oil supplies. However, imports declined around August following an agreement with the federal government, allowing the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Limited to supply the refinery with up to 400,000 barrels of local crude daily, paid for in naira instead of U.S. dollars.

Despite this arrangement, recent shipping records indicate that Chevron has hired the supertanker Azure Nova to transport the crude from the U.S. Gulf Coast, with loading scheduled around December 5. While the reasons for the renewed U.S. imports remain unclear, a recent report by Sparta Commodities suggests that lower shipping costs may have made U.S. crude more competitive in Europe, potentially influencing the decision.