Dangote warns Africa About Influx of Low-Quality Russian Oil Products

President/Chief Executive, Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, has revealed that Africa is increasingly becoming a destination for cheap, often toxic petroleum products.

Volume of these products are blended to substandard levels that would not be permitted in Europe or North America, he said.

He also cited the growing influx of discounted, low-quality fuel originating from Russia blended with Russian crude under price caps and dumped in African markets.

“And to make matters worse, we are now facing increasing dumping of cheap, often toxic, petroleum products—some of which are blended to substandard levels that would never be allowed in Europe or North America,” he said.

Dangote called on African governments to follow the example of the United States, Canada, and the European Union, which have implemented protective measures for domestic refiners.

Dangote, disclosed this during the ongoing West African Refined Fuel Conference held in Abuja. The event is organised by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and S&P Global Commodity Insights.

Dangote revealed that, due to the continent’s limited domestic refining capacity, Africa imports over 120 million tonnes of refined petroleum products annually, at a cost of approximately $90 billion.

While appreciating the Management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), for making some cargoes of Nigerian crude available to us from start of production to date, he revealed that the company, monthly import between 9-10 million barrels of crude from the United States of America and other countries. He said: “As we speak today, we buy 9 – 10 million barrels of crude monthly from US and other countries. I must thank NNPC for making some cargoes of Nigerian crude available to us from start of production to date.”

Dangote further stated that despite producing around 7 million barrels of crude oil per day, Africa only refines about 40 per cent of its 4.3 million barrels daily consumption of refined products domestically. In stark contrast, Europe and Asia refine over 95 per cent of what they consume.
While reaffirming his belief in the power of free markets and international cooperation, Dangote emphasised that trade must be grounded in economic efficiency and comparative advantage — not at the expense of quality or safety standards. He stressed that, “it defies logic and economic sense for Africa to be exporting raw crude only to re-import refined products—products we are more than capable of producing ourselves, closer to both source and consumption.”

Reflecting on the experience of delivering the world’s largest single-train refinery, Dangote also highlighted a range of challenges faced, including technical, commercial, and contextual hurdles unique to the African landscape.

Africa’s wealthiest man described building refineries such as the Dangote Petroleum Refinery as one of the most capital-intensive and logistically complex industrial facilities ever constructed. The Dangote refinery project, he said, required clearing 2,735 hectares of land (seven times the size of Victoria Island), of which 70 per cent was swampy, requiring the pumping of 65 million cubic metres of sand to stabilise the site and raise it by 1.5 metres, over 250,000 foundation piles, and millions of metres of piping, cabling, and electrical wiring among others.
The Dangote Refinery in Nigeria, which produced over 2 million barrels per day, faced significant commercial challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the construction of a dedicated seaport. The refinery required over 2,500 pieces of heavy equipment, 330 cranes, and the world’s largest granite quarry. Despite these challenges, Dangote built an industrial ecosystem from scratch, overcoming exchange rates and crude oil sourcing issues. He also noted that logistics and regulatory bottlenecks accounted for 40% of total freight costs, sometimes costing two-thirds as much as chartering the vessel itself. Dangote also criticized the lack of harmonised fuel standards across African nations, which creates artificial barriers for regional trade in refined production. He noted that refiners in India enjoy lower freight costs than those in West Africa due to lower port charges.

Source: orientalnewsnews.com

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