Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE has executed its first-ever procurement of Middle Eastern crude, snapping up two massive cargoes from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as it capitalizes on a global supply surge triggered by the thawing of geopolitical hostilities in the Arabian Gulf.
According to company sources and tracking data compiled by S&P Global Commodity Insights, the 700,000 barrel-per-day mega-refinery at Lekki has secured two shipments of benchmark UAE Murban crude. The incoming tankers represent a historic operational pivot for Africa’s largest single-train processor, which has historically favored domestic Nigerian light sweet grades and deep-water US imports.
The timing is highly opportunistic. Following an interim peace agreement reached between Washington and Tehran, oil tankers have flooded back into the Strait of Hormuz.
The lifting of the maritime risk premium has sent prices plummeting, with the UAE’s flagship Murban grade trading at a highly competitive $66.40 per barrel—roughly $6 below pre-conflict benchmarks—making it an attractive option for a fully merchant refinery.
The addition of light sour UAE grades like Murban, Das Blend, or Umm Lulu marks the official rollout of the refinery’s crude blending game. While the facility was structurally engineered around native Nigerian crude, expanding its technical capabilities to process heavier, high-sulfur, and typically cheaper feedstock significantly upgrades its gross refining margins.
“We definitely want to heavy up the barrel,” Dangote Refinery Chief Executive Officer David Bird stated earlier this year, outlining plans to expand the refinery’s nameplate architecture to 1.4 million barrels per day by 2028. “You can easily imagine at 1.4 million b/d we could process 30 percent Middle Eastern grades on each train.”
Though an active “naira-for-crude” agreement with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited guarantees the refinery between 13 and 15 domestic cargoes monthly to hedge foreign exchange exposure, field underproduction and unreliable terminal loading operations have continuously starved the Lekki plant of steady volume. Sourcing global alternatives has shifted from a long-term goal to an immediate necessity to sustain high utilization rates.
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