Dangote Reveals How Africa Loses $90bn Annually To Imported Substandard fuel

The Chief Executive of Dango Group, Aliko Dangote, has disclosed that Africa loses at least $90 billion annually to the importation of substandard petroleum products due to the continent’s inadequate domestic refining capacity, reports Business Today NG.
Dangote made this disclosure while speaking at the West African Refined Fuel Conference in Abuja on Tuesday, 22 July, 2025.
The multi billionaire business man also warned that the continent’s reliance on fuel imports not only bleeds its economy but also exposes it to the influx of cheap, often substandard petroleum products rejected in Europe and North America.
According to Dangote, while Africa produces about seven million barrels of crude oil per day, only 40 percent of its 4.3 million barrels daily consumption of refined products is processed locally — a stark contrast to Europe and Asia, which refine over 95 percent of their consumption.
“So, while we produce plenty of crude, we still import over 120 million tonnes of refined petroleum products each year, effectively exporting jobs and importing poverty into our continent. That’s a $90 billion market opportunity we’re handing over annually,” Dangote said.
He explained further that it is economically illogical for Africa to export crude and re-import refined products which it is capable of producing, noting that this practice deprives the continent of jobs, investment, and industrial growth.
Sharing insights on the complexities of building the Dangote Refinery, he recounted overcoming technical, commercial, and logistical challenges, including land reclamation, infrastructural development, and regulatory hurdles.
At its peak, the project engaged over 67,000 workers, with 50,000 of them Nigerians, and required the construction of a dedicated seaport and the world’s largest granite quarry. Despite the technical success, Dangote lamented persistent challenges such as foreign exchange volatility and difficulties in sourcing Nigerian crude at competitive terms.
“Rather than buying crude directly from local producers, we’ve often had to negotiate with international traders who buy Nigerian crude and sell to us at a premium. Ironically, we now import millions of barrels monthly from the US and other countries,” he disclosed.
Dangote also decried high port and regulatory charges in Nigeria, which inflate logistics costs to levels higher than what refiners in Asia and India pay. He criticised the fragmented fuel standards across African countries, describing them as barriers that discourage intra-African trade in refined products.
Dangote urged African governments to harmonize fuel specifications and adopt policies that protect domestic refiners, similar to measures taken by the US, Canada, and the EU.
“We are now facing increasing dumping of cheap, often toxic, petroleum products — some blended to standards that would never be allowed in Europe or North America,” he warned.
In his remarks, Farouk Ahmed, chief executive officer of NMDPRA, noted that despite being a significant producer of hydrocarbon resources, an important consumer of refined petroleum products and a growing refining hub, West Africa continues to depend on posted prices of global reference markets such as Northwest Europe (NWE), US Gulf Coast, Mediterranean, Singapore, Arab Gulf for all its trading activities.
He explained that while these benchmarks are globally accepted, they often do not reflect the unique supply chain peculiarities, market dynamics, and economic realities of the African continent.
The conference, jointly organised by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and S&P Global Commodity Insights, brought together regulators, industry leaders, and policymakers to chart a sustainable future for West Africa’s petroleum market.