An oil vessel waits at the loading and discharging point of the Dangote refinery, during the visit of Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, Amina Mohammed to the Dangote Industries oil refinery and fertilizer plant site in Ibeju Lekki, Lagos, Nigeria, April 6, 2026. REUTERS/Sodiq Adelakun
As the ripple effects of the Iran war disrupt fuel and fertiliser markets across the globe, one facility on the outskirts of Lagos has emerged as a critical lifeline for the African continent. Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man and the force behind the $20 billion refinery bearing his name, says the plant is now redirecting significant export volumes toward African nations scrambling to secure alternative supplies.
“What I can do is assure Nigerians … and most of West Africa, Central Africa, and East Africa, we have the capacity to supply them,” Dangote said during a tour of the facility on Monday.
Running at its peak capacity of 650,000 barrels per day — making it the largest refinery on the continent — the Dangote plant has dispatched approximately 17 gasoline cargoes to other African nations since the crisis deepened. In a notable strategic shift, the refinery has also pivoted a portion of its fertiliser output toward African buyers, a market it had not previously prioritised.
“In the last couple of days, we’ve been looking to mostly African countries, which we were not doing before,” Dangote said of the urea fertiliser shipments, though he stopped short of disclosing specific volumes.
The refinery holds an annual urea production capacity of up to 3 million metric tons, the bulk of which ordinarily flows to buyers in the United States and South America. The redirection of even a fraction of that output toward African nations could prove significant for countries facing agricultural supply shocks linked to the conflict.
Despite the refinery’s record output, the crisis has not left Nigeria unscathed. Domestic fuel prices have climbed to historic highs, as the surge in global crude costs has outpaced the benefits of local refining capacity. To help ease the pressure on pump prices, Dangote said the refinery was seeking to source additional crude cargoes priced in the naira, a move that could help insulate costs from volatile dollar-denominated markets.
On that front, there appears to be some progress. Two trade sources and a refinery official revealed last week that the state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Company has allocated seven crude cargoes to the Dangote refinery for May delivery, up from five in previous months — a signal that domestic supply arrangements are tightening in response to the global crunch.
Dangote maintained that, taken together, these measures had helped soften the worst of the crisis for Nigeria and its neighbours. Whether that cushion will hold as the Iran conflict continues to strain global energy markets remains to be seen.
By: Andrews Kwesi Yeboah