Dangote Refinery Boosts Nigerian Petroleum Product Exports Amid Iran War Disruptions
The U.S. isn’t the only country to see export demand surge higher since the start of the war in Iran, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Nigeria’s seaborne petroleum product exports have jumped since the start of the fighting in late February and the subsequent closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which has disrupted global energy trade, the agency said in a Monday analysis.
That increase is largely due to operations at the massive Dangote Petroleum Refinery located near Lagos and the country’s largest refinery, EIA said.
Nigeria’s petroleum product shipments to Europe averaged 130,000 b/d during the second quarter of 2026, up 225% from the average 40,000 b/d in 2025, EIA said, citing data from Vortexa. Exports to other countries in Africa averaged 120,000 b/d during the quarter, up nearly 35% from 89,000 b/d in 2025, EIA said.
The demand for refined products is apparent when looking at Vortexa shipping data. The data show that since February, the Dangote refinery has become a significant provider of jet fuel to Europe.
In June and July, the refinery’s exports of jet fuel to Europe exceeded those from U.S. suppliers, according to Business Insider Africa.
So far this month, the refinery has shipped about 2.1 million bbl of jet fuel to the continent, the Vortexa data show.
The start of the war came at a good time for the refinery, which began operations in January 2024 with an initial crude distillation capacity of 650,000 b/d.
Work on the refinery that was completed in February boosted capacity to 700,000 b/d, just in time to take advantage of disruptions caused by the war. Plans call for increasing the refinery’s capacity with the addition of a second 750,000-b/d crude distillation unit by 2028, EIA noted.
The opening of the refinery and subsequent increase in capacity has also cut Nigeria’s reliance on imports. While the country imported nearly 400,000 b/d of petroleum products in the year before the refinery opened, seaborne imports fell to less than 130,000 b/d in Q2 2026, according to EIA.
Total seaborne petroleum product shipments from Nigeria averaged 561,000 b/d in the second quarter of this year, including 211,000 b/d of shipments between Nigerian ports. Total shipments were up more than 600% from the 79,000 b/d average shipments before the refinery’s opening while intra-Nigerian shipments were nearly 540% higher, according to EIA.
The global scramble for petroleum supply has also boosted U.S. refiners, with exports of petroleum products from this country averaging 3.537 million b/d in May. That’s 17% higher than a year earlier and the highest monthly average since late 2018.