{"id":2457,"date":"2026-06-30T17:44:19","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T14:44:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/dangote-refinery-starts-uae-crude-imports-as-feedstock-constraints-persist\/"},"modified":"2026-06-30T17:44:19","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T14:44:19","slug":"dangote-refinery-starts-uae-crude-imports-as-feedstock-constraints-persist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/dangote-refinery-starts-uae-crude-imports-as-feedstock-constraints-persist\/","title":{"rendered":"Dangote Refinery Starts UAE Crude Imports as Feedstock Constraints Persist"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Dangote Petroleum Refinery has bought two shipments of crude oil from the United Arab Emirates, a move that signals further progress in expanding its supply base as it contends with ongoing domestic feedstock limitations. The latest UAE purchase is being viewed as a first-of-its-kind procurement of Middle Eastern crude for the refinery, which is designed mainly for Nigeria\u2019s light sweet crude but has been adapting its sourcing mix as production scales.<\/p>\n<h2>Key takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Dangote Petroleum Refinery acquired two cargoes of crude from the United Arab Emirates.<\/li>\n<li>The UAE shipment is described as the refinery\u2019s first procurement of Middle Eastern crude as it expands feedstock options.<\/li>\n<li>In 2025, roughly 70% of the refinery\u2019s crude imports came from Nigeria, while about 24% were sourced from the United States.<\/li>\n<li>NNPCL had previously committed to deliver 13 to 15 cargoes of Nigerian crude per month under a naira-for-crude arrangement.<\/li>\n<li>Crude prices dipped below $70 per barrel last week, then moved higher on Monday after renewed US and Iran strikes tied to developments around a peace agreement.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>UAE crude purchase highlights a shifting sourcing strategy<\/h2>\n<p>Industry analysis indicates that the refinery\u2019s newest import from the UAE represents its first recorded purchase of Middle Eastern crude. The transaction comes as Dangote seeks to broaden the range of feedstock grades it processes while it scales up operations under conditions where local supplies have remained constrained.<\/p>\n<p>Although the plant was built primarily to process Nigeria\u2019s light sweet crude, it has been increasingly diversifying the crude it runs. The stated goal is to evolve into a fully merchant refinery\u2014meaning it would be able to buy and process a wider set of crude grades rather than relying predominantly on one domestic stream.<\/p>\n<p>That broader approach is reflected in the refinery\u2019s import patterns. For 2025, about 70% of its crude arrivals were reportedly from Nigeria. The remaining portion included imports from the United States, which accounted for approximately 24% of the total.<\/p>\n<h2>Naira-for-crude deal, but supply constraints persist<\/h2>\n<p>Earlier, Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) had agreed to provide the refinery with between 13 and 15 cargoes of Nigerian crude each month, with settlement structured in naira under what has been described as the naira-for-crude deal. The arrangement was intended to help the refinery reduce foreign-exchange exposure.<\/p>\n<p>Even with that framework in place, the refinery still experienced constraints in receiving domestic crude. Those hurdles have played a role in pushing the company to look beyond its initial sourcing assumptions and increase its flexibility in procurement.<\/p>\n<p>In April, Bird\u2014referenced in the reporting as speaking about the refinery\u2019s strategy\u2014said the company wanted to \u201cheavy up the barrel,\u201d indicating an intention to raise the share of heavier crude grades in its feedstock blend. That approach aligns with the broader theme of diversifying crude grades as production becomes more stable and the refinery\u2019s operating window expands.<\/p>\n<h2>Oil prices move as tensions flare<\/h2>\n<p>Separately, reporting on global crude markets noted that oil prices eased to less than $70 per barrel last week. However, prices turned upward on Monday after the latest strikes involving the United States and Iran, even after the completion of a peace deal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Dangote Petroleum Refinery has bought two shipments of crude oil from the United Arab Emirates, a move that signals further progress in expanding its supply base as it contends with ongoing domestic feedstock limitations. The latest UAE purchase is being viewed as a first-of-its-kind procurement of Middle Eastern crude for the refinery, which is [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2456,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_title":"Dangote Refinery UAE Crude Imports Boost Supply Base","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Dangote Refinery begins UAE crude imports with two new shipments, expanding its supply base despite Nigeria feedstock constraints ","mma_seo_breadcrumb_text":"","mma_seo_breadcrumb_url":"","mma_seo_breadcrumb_hide_ui":"","mma_seo_breadcrumb_labels":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2457","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-business"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Dangote Refinery UAE Crude Imports Boost 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