Nigeria Exports 55.39 Million Barrels of Crude as Dangote Refinery Faces Severe Domestic Supply Shortage

Nigeria exported a total of 55.39 million barrels of crude oil in the first two months of 2026, even as its largest private refinery, the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, continues to battle a severe shortage of domestic crude supply. The figures highlight a growing imbalance between crude exports and local refining needs.

Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria shows that 31.31 million barrels were exported in January and 24.08 million barrels in February. While production averaged 1.46 million barrels per day in January, it declined to 1.31 million barrels per day in February, with a noticeable drop in export volumes during the same period.

Despite producing 81.94 million barrels in total over the two months, only 26.55 million barrels were retained for local refining. This has raised concerns among industry stakeholders, especially as Nigeria continues to position itself as Africa’s largest crude oil producer while still struggling with domestic refining capacity.

The 650,000-barrel-per-day Dangote Refinery has repeatedly reported inadequate crude supply from local sources, forcing it to rely on imports. Reports indicate that the facility received far below its required monthly volumes, despite agreements under the naira-for-crude arrangement with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC).

Industry sources say the refinery requires about 19.77 million barrels monthly but received significantly less between October 2025 and March 2026, meeting only about 26.9% of its needs over the period. While NNPC has increased supply in recent months, stakeholders, including the Crude Oil Refiners Association of Nigeria, continue to call for stronger local feedstock allocation to ensure Nigeria’s refining ambitions are fully realized.

source: punch