Emerging report explains How Petrol Production at Dangote Refinery Affects European Oil Market

A recent report sheds light on the impact of petrol production at the Dangote Refinery on the European oil market.

This was contained in a report published by Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries

OPEC claims that the production of petroleum products by the Dangote Petroleum Refinery has led to a decrease in Nigeria’s reliance on imported refined products from European sources.

In its Monthly Oil Market Report released on January 15, 2025, OPEC emphasized that the increased gasoline production from the Lagos refinery will lead to a surplus in the international market, necessitating the exploration of alternative destinations for the excess supply.

“The ongoing operational ramp-up efforts at Nigeria’s new Dangote refinery and its gasoline exports to the international market will likely weigh further on the European gasoline market.

“Continued gasoline production in Nigeria, a country that has relied heavily on imports to meet its domestic fuel needs in the past, will most likely continue to free up gasoline volumes in international markets which will call for new destinations and flow adjustments for the extra volumes going forward,” the report partly read.

Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, faces energy challenges, with all its state-owned refineries non-operational for decades until recently.

The country is heavily reliant on imported refined petroleum products, with the state-run NNPC being the major importer of the essential commodities.

Fuel queues are commonplace in the country. Prices of petrol have risen fivefold since the removal of subsidy in May 2023 by President Bola Tinubu, from around ₦200/litre to around ₦1000/litre, compounding the woes of the citizens who power their vehicles, and generating sets with petrol, no thanks to decades-long epileptic electricity supply.

In December 2023, Aliko Dangote, Africa’s leading industrialist, commenced operations at his $20bn facility sited in Lagos with 350,000 barrels a day.

The refinery, which was initially bogged by regulatory battles, hopes to achieve its full capacity of 650,000 barrels per day by the end of the year.

The refinery has begun the supply of diesel, petrol and aviation fuel to marketers in the country