United States EIA: Dangote Refinery Driving 7-fold Surge in Nigeria’s Petroleum Exports – THISDAYLIVE

• Seaborne shipments hit 561,000bpd in Q2 2026  

•Exports jump from 46,000bpd in 2023 to 350,000bpd

• Shipments to Europe rose from 15,000bpd to 130,000bpd in Q2 

•Imports plunge from nearly 400,000bpd to below 130,000bpd

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja and Peter Uzoho in Lagos

Nigeria’s seaborne petroleum product exports have increased more than seven-fold since 2023, with the commissioning and expansion of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery driving a dramatic shift in the country’s refined products trade, the United States Energy Information Administration (EIA) has said.

According to a new analysis by the EIA, Nigeria’s seaborne petroleum product shipments averaged 561,000 barrels per day (bpd) in the second quarter of 2026, compared with an annual average of just 79,000 bpd in 2023.

Of the 561,000 bpd shipped in the second quarter, 350,000 bpd was exported to international markets, compared with only 46,000 bpd in 2023, the report added.

The EIA said the surge was underpinned by the commencement of operations at the Dangote refinery in January 2024, which has substantially increased the availability of refined petroleum products in the Nigerian market.

“With the increased supply of petroleum products in Nigeria from the country’s largest refinery, imports fell, exports increased, and Nigeria became more self-sufficient in refined petroleum products,” the EIA stated.

The development represents a major change from the situation before the Dangote refinery came on stream, when Nigeria’s existing state-owned refineries shipped less than 100,000 bpd of petroleum products by sea to various parts of the country and international destinations.

The EIA analysis, based on data from Vortexa Analytics, showed that the increase in product shipments occurred in two major…