- Official data reveals the Dangote Petroleum Refinery imported 40.40 million barrels of crude oil between May and June 2026 to stabilize local supply.
- The refinery clarifies that product pricing is tied to forward commercial contracts rather than volatile, real-time daily international spot market rates.
- Average landed crude costs dropped by nearly 24 percent from May to June, paving the way for gradual domestic fuel price moderation.
The Dangote Petroleum Refinery has released a detailed breakdown of its operational expenditures, disclosing that it imported a total of 40.40 million barrels of crude oil between May and June 2026.
Eko Hot Blog reports that the substantial feedstock acquisition incurred a total landed cost of approximately $4.48bn.
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The publication of this extensive data set was deliberately initiated by the refinery management to dispel growing public speculation and clarify misconceptions regarding the correlation between local petroleum product pricing and daily international crude oil benchmarks.
According to the official cargo discharge records, the refinery successfully processed 21.47 million barrels of crude oil in May 2026 at a total cost of $2.68bn. This was followed by an additional import volume of 18.93 million barrels in June 2026, valued at $1.80bn.
The financial data highlights a significant monthly shift, with the average landed cost per barrel declining from $124.80 in May to $95.25 in June.
This represents a sharp drop of nearly 24 percent within a single month, a trend driven by changing cargo grades, enhanced freight logistics, and evolving global supply dynamics.
To satisfy its massive processing requirements, the refinery utilized a diverse procurement strategy, blending international streams with premium West African crude grades.
The inventory breakdown shows that shipments included domestic varieties such as Bonny Light, Forcados, Qua Iboe, Amenam, and Escravos, alongside foreign blends like El Sharara, Agbami, and Cabinda.
May’s heightened averages were heavily influenced by premium-priced cargoes, including shipments of El Sharara and Bonga that breached the $130 per barrel mark.
Conversely, June witnessed an easing of fiscal pressure, with multiple West African shipments, particularly Amenam and Escravos, clustering at more economical rates between $90 and $94 per barrel.
In an official statement addressing these figures, the Dangote Petroleum Refinery emphasized that its product pricing does not move in tandem with daily media-reported ICE Brent quotes.
Because refinery feedstock is purchased under commercial contracts weeks or months in advance on a Dated Brent plus market premium basis, current fuel output reflects older, significantly higher-priced inventories.
The refinery management further noted that it deliberately absorbed a substantial portion of these elevated feedstock costs rather than immediately transferring the burden to Nigerian consumers, thereby actively shielding the domestic market from extreme global inflation and volatile energy market swings.
Looking forward, the company assured the public that as these lower-cost June inventories integrate fully into the production cycle, Nigerians can expect a steady moderation in local fuel prices.
