Dangote refinery boosts exports as Middle East refineries shut for maintenance

The Dangote Petroleum Refinery is expanding its reach in the international market, exporting more fuel to Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries in the Middle East as several refineries undergo maintenance.

This was revealed in a report by Argus Media, an independent energy and commodity intelligence firm.

The report noted that a “heavy refinery turnaround season in the Mideast Gulf is expected to exacerbate an already tight gasoline market in the fourth quarter, prompting key regional suppliers to boost imports.”

According to the report, Saudi Arabia has already shut down two of its refineries and is preparing to take additional facilities offline in the coming months.

“Aramco’s 460,000 b/d Satorp refinery in Jubail is due for a 60-day shutdown in November-December, while maintenance is also planned at the Riyadh refinery in the fourth quarter, though details have not been officially confirmed,” it stated.

Argus Media also disclosed that the Dangote refinery had supplied two long-range cargoes of fuel to the Mideast Gulf region between June and July.

Corroborating the Argus Media report, a senior officer at the $20bn Dangote refinery, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Punch on Monday that the plant exported large volumes of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol), aviation fuel, and diesel to other countries in August.

“We export PMS, AGO (Automotive Gas Oil or diesel), and Jet A1 (also known as aviation fuel),” the official was quoted as saying.

Meanwhile, Kuwait’s state-owned Kuwait National Petroleum Company will shut several units at its 490,000 b/d Mina Abdullah refinery for 30 days from October 1.

At the same time, India’s post-monsoon demand is expected to cut export volumes further.

With regional supply tightening, the Mideast Gulf boosted gasoline imports to a seven-month high in July, largely from northwest Europe, according to ship-tracking data from Vortexa.

Imports hit 1.03 million tonnes in July, up 35 per cent from June, and remained high in August.

Saudi Arabia ramped up imports to 478,000 tonnes in July from 144,000 tonnes in June, while the UAE bought 864,000 tonnes in August, up from 648,000 tonnes in July.

Argus noted Saudi Arabia received 291,000 tonnes from European ports — its highest since December 2024.

The report further noted possible operational issues at the 650,000 b/d Dangote refinery until early September.

However, the refinery denied problems, saying it aims to scale up to 700,000 b/d in December.

“If economics align and its residual fluid catalytic cracker issues are resolved, flows from Dangote could emerge,” the report said.