Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man and President of the Dangote Group, has clarified that the continued importation of crude oil from the United States by the Dangote Refinery is a direct consequence of the ongoing scarcity of crude supply within Nigeria.
Dangote made this disclosure during an official visit by members of the Technical Committee of the One-Stop Shop (OSS) for the Naira-for-Crude initiative, who were on a guided tour of the $20 billion refinery complex situated in the Lekki Free Trade Zone, Lagos.
The business mogul used the occasion to commend the OSS team for their strategic role in advancing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Naira-for-Crude policy, which aims to exchange locally refined petroleum products for crude oil sourced in Nigeria, using the naira instead of foreign currencies.
According to Dangote, the policy has already begun yielding significant results, particularly in three critical areas: stabilizing the value of the naira, lowering pump prices of petrol, and easing the overwhelming pressure on Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves.
“This initiative is a game-changer. It supports the local economy, reduces our dependency on dollars, and ensures that the benefits of our natural resources are felt more directly by Nigerians,” Dangote told the delegation, adding that the Dangote Refinery remains committed to sourcing local crude once availability challenges are resolved.
He further emphasized that while the refinery was built primarily to serve Nigeria and the West African sub-region, the current crude shortfall has forced the plant to look overseas—particularly to U.S. shale producers—to sustain refining operations and meet domestic fuel demands.
Stakeholders from the OSS Committee echoed Dangote’s concerns, reaffirming their commitment to working with relevant government agencies, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), and upstream producers to ensure a reliable supply of crude to domestic refineries.
The Dangote Refinery, with a capacity to process 650,000 barrels of crude per day, is Africa’s largest and one of the world’s most advanced refining facilities. It is expected to drastically reduce Nigeria’s dependence on imported petroleum products and transform the country into a net exporter of refined fuels.
Industry analysts believe that solving the crude supply bottleneck is critical not only for the refinery’s success but also for the long-term sustainability of the Naira-for-Crude exchange model championed by the Tinubu administration.
The visit to the refinery marks an important step in fostering synergy between private sector giants like the Dangote Group and federal policy initiatives aimed at revamping Nigeria’s oil and gas industry from within.