Middle East Crisis: We Have Capacity To Supply Nigeria, Africa, Says Dangote

Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, has said his refinery has the capacity to supply petroleum products to Nigeria and across Africa despite ongoing disruptions linked to tensions in the Middle East.

Dangote stated this during a tour of the refinery in Lagos, noting that the facility was already ramping up exports to cushion the impact of supply shocks triggered by the Iran war.

“What I can do is assure Nigerians and most of West Africa, Central Africa, and East Africa, we have the capacity to supply them,” he said.

According to him, the Dangote Refinery, which is currently operating at its full capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, has played a key role in mitigating the effects of the crisis both within Nigeria and across the continent.

He disclosed that the refinery had already shipped about 17 cargoes of gasoline to several African countries facing supply shortages, while exports of urea fertiliser have also increased in response to rising demand.

“In the last couple of days, we’ve been looking to mostly African countries, which we were not doing before,” he said, referring to fertiliser shipments, without providing specific figures.

Officials say the refinery has the capacity to produce up to three million metric tonnes of urea annually, with most of its output traditionally exported to markets in the United States and South America.

The increased export push comes amid supply disruptions linked to the Middle East crisis, which have impacted fuel availability and pricing globally.

Despite the refinery’s output, fuel prices in Nigeria have continued to rise to record levels, driven largely by high global crude prices.

Dangote, however, expressed optimism that sourcing more crude oil in local currency could help reduce costs and stabilise domestic fuel prices.