Nigeria’s oil refining sector recorded its strongest growth in recent years, expanding by 43.94% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2026, as the Dangote Petroleum Refinery continued to ramp up production and reshape the country’s refining landscape. The latest figures from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) show that the sector’s growth has accelerated significantly as domestic refining capacity expands.
The performance was contained in the NBS Q2 2026 GDP report released on Monday, August 31, 2026. The growth comes after the Dangote Refinery increased its crude processing capacity from 650,000 barrels per day to 700,000 barrels per day following maintenance and expansion work completed in February. The higher capacity has positioned the refinery as a major driver of Nigeria’s growing refined petroleum output.
Crude supply to domestic refineries also improved sharply during the quarter. Data from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) showed that local refineries received 53.7 million barrels of crude between April and June, with the Dangote Refinery accounting for the overwhelming share. The refinery required 63 million barrels during the period and ultimately received 52.6 million barrels, highlighting the scale of its operations compared with other domestic refiners.
The impact is increasingly extending beyond Nigeria’s borders, as the country moves from relying heavily on imported petroleum products to becoming a growing exporter of refined products. Nigeria’s seaborne petroleum product exports averaged 350,000 barrels per day in Q2 2026, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Europe received about 130,000 barrels per day, African markets nearly 120,000 barrels per day, while about 110,000 barrels per day went to Asia and Oceania.
The surge in refining activity comes alongside broader improvements in Nigeria’s oil industry and economy. Crude oil production averaged 1.72 million barrels per day in Q2 2026, while the oil sector grew 7.31% year-on-year. Nigeria’s overall real GDP also expanded by 4.43% during the quarter. With the Dangote Refinery operating at a larger capacity and refined petroleum exports gaining momentum, Nigeria’s oil story is increasingly shifting from simply producing crude to processing more of it at home and selling finished products to global markets.
source: nairametrics
