By Muhammad Mamman
The Dangote Refinery has, for the first time, imported crude oil from Ghana as part of a deliberate strategy to broaden its supply sources, even as questions linger over the plant’s operational reliability.
Market intelligence firm Kpler reports the refinery is currently running at around 450,000 barrels per day (bpd) — roughly 70 per cent of its nameplate capacity. This marks an uptick from 400,000 bpd (60 per cent) in the first quarter, but output remains short of expectations for Africa’s largest refinery.
The facility has begun processing Ghana’s Sankofa crude — a medium-sweet grade with an API gravity of 29 and 0.3 per cent sulphur content — into its feedstock mix. In August alone, the refinery received five Suezmax shipments from Nigeria, two Very Large Crude Carriers from the United States, and a single cargo from Ghana.
Kpler also noted the return of Brass River crude to Dangote’s slate after nearly a year’s absence, underscoring the company’s push to diversify beyond its traditional reliance on Nigerian and US light sweet crude.
Meanwhile, Cameroon’s state-owned Sonara has announced plans to restart its Limbe Refinery by 2027, after an eight-year shutdown caused by a devastating fire. Once operational, the facility could intensify competition for market share in West and Central Africa, further testing Dangote’s dominance.
