The Dangote Refinery retained 13% of Nigeria’s crude oil exports in 2024, marking a significant increase from just 2% in 2023, according to Reuters. This shift helped to reduce Nigeria’s exports to Europe while boosting the country’s domestic share of oil supply.
Despite being a major net exporter of crude, Nigeria still imported 47,000 barrels per day of US oil in 2024, a move that experts find unusual for an oil-exporting country. The Dangote refinery, with a capacity of 600,000 barrels per day, played a key role in this trend, receiving multiple shipments of US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil due to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company’s failure to meet its supply needs.
The year also saw global crude exports decline by 2% due to weak demand and the reshuffling of trade routes. Conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, along with sanctions on Russian and Iranian oil, caused significant shifts in global oil supply chains, influencing both exports and imports.
As the global oil market faces continued uncertainty, particularly in 2025, experts predict a rise in demand from India, while some countries are increasingly turning to gas and renewable energy sources.
