London — Nigeria’s Dangote refinery has boosted exports of petrol and urea to African countries hit by supply disruptions caused by the Iran war.
Aliko Dangote said on Monday that the 650,000-barrels-per-day refinery had helped cushion the full impact of the crisis both in Nigeria and across the continent.
“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.
He said the refinery had shipped some 17 cargoes of gasoline to other African nations, and exports of urea fertiliser had also recently risen, as buyers sought alternative sources of supply.
“In the last couple of days, we’ve been looking to mostly African countries, which we were not doing before,” he said, referring to the fertiliser shipments, without giving figures.
The refinery has capacity to produce up to 3 million metric tons of urea annually, most of which is typically exported to the United States and South America, officials say.
Fuel prices in Nigeria have reached record-high levels, industry figures show, as maximum output from Dangote refinery has not offset the impact of high crude prices.
Dangote said the refinery hoped to get more crude cargoes priced in local currency to help curb fuel costs.
A Reuters report last week quoted two trade sources and a refinery official that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) was allocating seven May cargoes to Dangote refinery, up from five in previous months.
Oil extended gains on Tuesday as a U.S.-imposed deadline for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz or be “taken out” approaches.
President Donald Trump threatened to order attacks on Iranian bridges and power plants and to rain “hell” on Tehran if it fails to comply with his deadline of 8 p.m. EDT Tuesday (0000 GMT Wednesday) to reopen the strait.
About a fifth of the global oil supply is normally shipped through the Strait.
Brent crude futures rose $1.74, or 1.6%, to $111.51 a barrel by 0530 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up $3.45, or 3.1%, at $115.86.
On Sunday, OPEC+ agreed to a modest rise of 206,000 barrels per day for May. Saudi Arabia also set the official selling price of May Arab Light crude oil to Asia at a record premium of $19.50 a barrel, above the Oman/Dubai average, an increase of $17 from the previous month.
