Africa spent a staggering $120 billion importing fuel in 2024
The Nigerian minister made the revelation at the ongoing OTL Africa Downstream Energy Week in the country’s commercial city, Lagos.
According to him, this figure reflects Africa’s energy potential and the resilience of the continent’s oil industry.
“Data has shown that Africa has enough markets. By 2024, the data available shows that Africa imported $120bn worth of hydrocarbon resources. That shows that Africa has the markets,” he said.
He, however, also pointed out a glaring problem in the sector, which is the insufficient refining capacity and distribution networks the continent currently has, as reported by Punch.
“Because we have limited refining capacity and we also have a limited distribution network, most of the money still goes back to countries outside the continent. But for Nigeria, our target is to see how we can retain a proportion of that value,” he stated.
“The idea is to make Nigeria the refining and distribution hub for Africa. I can tell you that the entire continent is waiting for Nigeria. Those of you who are in the downstream sector know that when you’re bringing products, you don’t just distribute to Nigeria; it goes to the rest of the sub-region,” he added.
In Nigeria, the Dangote Oil Refinery has been chipping away at the country’s oil import volume.
With a daily capacity of 650,000 barrels, the refinery has already established itself in the West African region, especially in Nigeria’s petroleum sector, which has suffered for decades due to the lack of a fully operational local refinery.
Speaking during a webinar hosted by the Major Energy Marketers Association of Nigeria in August, Gary Clark of S&P Global Commodity Insights stated that the refinery can now sell aviation fuel and diesel throughout the region.
“You know, prior to the ramping up of supply at the Dangote refinery, West Africa was very much reliant on imports from Europe and elsewhere. But now, obviously, with the Dangote refinery coming online, we see a lot of gasoil or diesel and jet fuel exported from that refinery, meeting West African and Central African demands.”
“More than enough jet fuel has been exported to supply both the region and also more far-flung destinations as well,” he said.
CEO of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has often called for a ban on the importation of fuel in Nigeria, noting that his refinery can handle the country’s fuel needs.
Nigeria’s gasoline imports fell from 500,000 barrels per day in early 2023 to barely 88,000 by the first quarter of 2025, thanks to the refinery.
Source: Africabusinessinsider
