Nigeria’s 650,000 barrels per day (bpd) Dangote refinery has purchased crude oil from Equatorial Guinea and Brazil as domestic suppliers such as the Nigerian National Petroleum Co. Ltd. (NNPCL) become increasingly unreliable.

Data provided by S&P Global Commodities at Sea show that Brazil’s Petrobras had shipped its first cargo of Tupi medium sweet grade crude on March 26, delivering 1mn barrels to the refinery. As of yet, crude from Equatorial Guinea has not been sent – according to ship tracking data.

On March 28, a refinery executive confirmed to Platts (part of S&P Global) that Dangote had “started sourcing globally,” and now considered both Equatorial Guinea and Brazil as part of its global suppliers list.

According to Hellenic Shipping News, Dangote’s increasing export activity has come as a surprise to some analysts, who previously thought it would focus on processing the light sweet Nigerian crude it was designed for. This was an accurate assumption in the past, when Dangote mostly relied on NNPCL-provided feedstock. However, as operations have ramped up to full capacity, the plant has needed to look elsewhere.

The decision mirrors past efforts by Dangote where it has used Algeria’s Saharan Blend, Angola’s as heavy sweet Pazflor and most notably WTI Midland crude from the US.

Indeed, around 35% of the 400,000 bpd of crude oil received by the refinery in 2025 was imported internationally, according to CAS data.

Dangote refinery’s decision has not emerged out of thin air, with Dangote Group CEO Aliko Dangote previously alluding to the fact he would run Brazilian crude at the plant in July 2024 – adding at the time that talks were also underway with Libya and Senegal over potential supply lines.

Although the NNPCL holds a stake in the plant, it has consistently failed to deliver promised supplies – previously supplying only a third of the 300,000 bpd it had initially promised.

Since then, the state-owned company has opted to reduce its stake in the facility from 20% to 7%, making a final decision on the matter in July 2024.