Dangote Refinery Supplied 50 million Litres of Petrol Daily in H1 2026 – Report

The Dangote Petroleum Refinery supplied approximately 50 million litres of petrol daily to Nigeria’s domestic market in the first half of 2026, as the facility expanded production and exports to international markets.

The Dangote Petroleum Refinery supplied approximately 50 million litres of petrol daily to Nigeria’s domestic market in the first half of 2026, as the facility expanded production and exports to international markets.

This was disclosed in Dangote Group’s H1 2026 Macroeconomic Report, titled Between Windfall and Inflation, prepared by its Economic Research and Intelligence Unit.

According to the report, daily petrol supply reached a record 56 million litres in April, against a planned evacuation of approximately 1.1 million tonnes monthly.

Refinery utilisation rises to 101%

The report revealed that the refinery’s capacity utilisation increased from approximately 45% in early 2025 to between 98% and 101% from April to June 2026.

Its processing capacity was also rerated from 650,000 to 700,000 barrels per day in June, reflecting the expansion of its refining operations.

• “By the first half of 2026 the plant was supplying on the order of 50 million litres of petrol a day to the domestic market (a record 56 million litres a day in April, against a planned evacuation of about 1.1 million tonnes a month), alongside some 25 million litres a day of diesel and up to 29 million litres a day of jet fuel and exporting a growing surplus of refined product across West Africa and beyond,” the report stated.

The report noted that the increase in production enabled the facility to meet a substantial portion of Nigeria’s domestic petroleum demand while expanding exports of diesel, aviation fuel and other refined products.

It further disclosed that Nigeria’s refined petroleum product exports increased by 51% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026.

Nigeria’s petrol imports fall 26%

The expansion of domestic refining capacity has significantly reduced Nigeria’s dependence on imported petrol, although the country continues to receive supplies from international markets.

According to the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Nigeria’s average daily petrol imports declined by 26% to 14.6 million litres in August 2026, from 19.7 million litres in July.

• During the same month, Dangote Refinery recorded average capacity utilisation of 105.21%, producing 41.94 million litres of petrol, 18.01 million litres of diesel and 24.48 million litres of aviation fuel daily.
• Domestic petrol receipts averaged 35.87 million litres daily, while exports stood at 9.73 million litres, with closing stock reaching 360.4 million litres.
• For diesel, daily domestic receipts stood at 12.37 million litres against exports of 8.75 million litres, while aviation fuel exports averaged 21.30 million litres daily, compared with domestic receipts of 3.07 million litres.

The increase in domestic refining has also coincided with a sharp reduction in Nigeria’s petrol import expenditure.

Data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that the country’s petrol import bill fell by 96.15% to N87.40 billion in Q1 2026, from N2.27 trillion in the corresponding period of 2025.

Dangote expands European jet fuel exports

Beyond supplying Nigeria’s domestic market, Dangote Refinery has expanded exports to Europe, reversing part of the historical trade pattern under which Nigeria imported refined petroleum products from international markets.

• The refinery’s growing presence in European markets has been reflected in increased jet fuel shipments and sales to the continent.
• The Dangote Group report disclosed that the refinery emerged as Europe’s largest single supplier of jet fuel in June and July, exporting more than 400,000 tonnes to the continent in July alone.
• In mid-September, Chairman of Dangote Petroleum and Petrochemical Limited, Aliko Dangote, disclosed that the refinery had sold out its jet fuel supply to European markets for August and September, with the remaining stock reserved for Nigeria.
• Nairametrics reported in August that Nigeria’s seaborne refined petroleum exports to Europe surged by approximately 767% to 130,000 barrels per day in Q2 2026, compared with 15,000 barrels per day in 2023.

Meanwhile, Dangote is planning another large-scale refinery in Kenya, with the proposed $17 billion facility expected to be located in Lamu.