The Dangote Refinery has resumed importing crude oil from the United States after a brief three-month hiatus.
The refinery purchased approximately two million barrels of WTI Midland crude oil from Chevron Corp.
This shipment, which marks the refinery’s return to U.S. imports, is scheduled to arrive at the 650,000 barrels per day (bpd) petrochemical facility next month, signaling an increase in production levels at the plant.
Earlier in the year, the Dangote Refinery regularly imported one or two shipments of U.S. crude each month, alongside using domestic crude supplies.
However, these imports were scaled back around August after the refinery reached an agreement with the federal government.
Under this arrangement, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited would supply crude oil to the refinery in naira instead of U.S. dollars, reducing the reliance on foreign crude shipments.
As part of the agreement, Dangote Refinery is slated to receive up to 400,000 barrels of local crude oil daily, with payments made in naira.
However, recent reports indicate that Chevron has chartered the supertanker Azure Nova to transport crude from the U.S. Gulf Coast to the refinery, with loading expected to occur around December 5, according to shipping records.
The reasons for Dangote Refinery’s decision to resume U.S. crude imports are not yet clear.
However, a report from Sparta Commodities earlier this week indicates that lower shipping costs have recently made U.S. oil more competitively priced in Europe, which could have played a role in the refinery’s choice to restart these imports.
Dangote Refinery’s management has repeatedly raised concerns about difficulties in sourcing crude oil from Nigeria.
For example, the refinery’s vice president, Edwin Devakumar, has accused international oil companies of hindering operations by artificially inflating crude oil prices.
In response, the federal government approved an agreement for Dangote to receive crude oil from the NNPC in naira, simplifying the transaction process for both sides.
