The Dangote Petroleum Refinery has pushed back against claims that it imports finished petroleum products, clarifying that its operations are structured around a merchant refinery model that relies on intermediate feedstock rather than refined fuels.
Speaking at the refinery on Wednesday, Chief Executive Officer David Bird explained that the Dangote Refinery is fundamentally different from state-owned refineries in oil-rich countries such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, which are typically located at the end of crude oil pipelines and process only domestic crude.
He said, “Dangote refinery does not sit on the end of a pipeline just processing the country’s crude oil. So, what you might see in Saudi Arabia or Kuwait or UAE where the refinery sits on the end of a pipeline and just processes that crude…Dangote is not like that. Dangote is a merchant refinery. A merchant refinery has all of its feedstock coming in but only by sea, of course. That means it can process a wide variety of crude and feedstock. So it is not just about a pure distillation of crude oil.
“Being a merchant refinery which is absolutely normal practice in other merchant refining hubs like Europe or Singapore or Taiwan is what we have built right here in Nigeria.”
Bird explained that unlike conventional refineries focused on straight crude distillation, the Dangote facility is designed to handle multiple crude blends. These crudes are imported, stored separately, and then mixed into specific “crude cocktails” that suit the refinery’s processing configuration.
He further noted that different crude blends yield varying proportions of refined products such as LPG, naphtha, kerosene and diesel. As a result, downstream units must constantly be balanced to ensure optimal utilisation.
He said, “What it means to be a merchant refinery, you bring in crudes, you bring in different crudes. You need to segregate those crudes. And then you mix them to make certain crude cocktails which your plant can process. And then your crude profile will give you a certain level of fraction LPG, naphtha, kerosene, diesel… And you’ve built your downstream units. But every time you process a different crude, it’ll give you different levels of those fractions.
“So what does that mean for the downstream units? If you’re processing a certain crude that is high in diesel, then that means your naphtha processing unit might be underutilised. And because we are a capital intensive industry, utilisation is key.”
Bird stressed that the refinery needs to be utilised to its maximum capacity and explained further by using the analogy of a plane that has to fill its seats,ẁ or a hotel that needs its rooms occupied.
“It’s all about utilisation. Because I can guarantee you, we are not importing finished products. I am a refinery. I have no interest in importing finished products. But I will be importing intermediate feedstock and components.”
The clarification comes amid public debate over Nigeria’s fuel supply chain and the role of the Dangote Refinery in reducing dependence on imported refined petroleum products. By operating as a merchant refinery, Dangote aims to maximise efficiency, ensure steady production, and integrate Nigeria into global refining best practices while producing fuels locally.
Melissa Enoch
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