Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, has raised the alarm over the increasing influx of low-quality and often toxic petroleum products into African markets, blaming the continent’s heavy reliance on fuel imports and weak regulatory enforcement. Speaking at the West African Refined Fuel Conference in Abuja a gathering co-hosted by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and S&P Global Commodity Insights Dangote warned that Africa is fast becoming a dumping ground for fuel blends banned in developed countries.
“We are now facing increasing dumping of cheap, often toxic, petroleum products some of which are blended to substandard levels that would never be allowed in Europe or North America,” Dangote said during his keynote address.
$90 Billion Exported Along with Jobs and Opportunity
Dangote painted a stark picture of Africa’s energy imbalance. Despite producing over 7 million barrels of crude oil daily, the continent refines only about 40% of the 4.3 million barrels it consumes in refined products. This leaves Africa importing more than 120 million tonnes of refined petroleum annually a trade valued at over $90 billion.
“To put that into perspective, only about 15% of African countries even have a GDP above $90 billion,” he said. “That’s an entire continent’s market opportunity we’re exporting to other regions along with our jobs, prosperity, and industrial growth.”
This heavy import dependency, according to Dangote, has created a vacuum exploited by international traders and refiners, many of whom dump substandard fuel on the continent fuel that would be rejected outright in their home countries due to environmental and public health regulations.
A Call for Harmonised Fuel Standards Across Africa
One of the key issues highlighted by Dangote was the lack of harmonised fuel specifications across African nations. While local refiners like Dangote Petroleum Refinery can meet high standards, inconsistent requirements from country to country are creating artificial trade barriers.
“The fuel we produce for Nigeria cannot be sold in Ghana, Cameroon, or Togo even though we all drive the same vehicles. This lack of harmonisation fragments the market and benefits only international traders exploiting price gaps,” he said.
He offered a practical example involving diesel: Nigeria mandates a diesel “cloud point” of 4°C a level suitable for near-freezing climates even though most of the country never experiences such low temperatures. In contrast, other African nations permit more appropriate limits between 7°C to 12°C, allowing for more cost-effective refining and wider crude oil choices.
“This is a low-hanging fruit that can be fixed by regulators,” Dangote urged.
Building an Industrial Giant from Swampland
Dangote also gave a behind-the-scenes look at the monumental undertaking of building the Dangote Refinery, the world’s largest single-train refining facility. The $19 billion project involved transforming 2,735 hectares of swampy land nearly seven times the size of Victoria Island and pumping in 65 million cubic metres of sand for land stabilization. Over 250,000 foundation piles, millions of metres of cabling, and 67,000 workers (75% of whom were Nigerian) were involved.
“We didn’t just build a refinery we built an entire industrial ecosystem from scratch, including our own seaport and even the world’s largest granite quarry,” he said.
However, the refinery’s operations continue to be plagued by commercial headwinds, particularly the inability to secure Nigerian crude directly. Instead, the refinery is often forced to buy Nigerian crude through international middlemen at a premium.
“We’ve had to negotiate with traders who buy Nigerian crude and sell it back to us at a markup. This makes no sense economically,” he stated.
Logistics and Policy Bottlenecks: Local Refiners Disadvantaged
Dangote criticised Nigeria’s logistics and regulatory framework, describing port charges as punitive. According to him, freight costs within West Africa can be higher than shipping crude from the Middle East or Russia to India.
“Refiners in India enjoy lower freight costs than we do here, simply because their ports are better regulated,” he lamented.
He added that in some cases, it is cheaper to load fuel in Lomé, Togo, than in Lagos, even though the Dangote Refinery is just kilometers away from Nigeria’s major markets. In Lomé, customers only pay at the point of discharge, while in Nigeria, they pay twice at loading and offloading.
Foreign Dumping Threatens Local Refiners
Perhaps most troubling is the growing presence of discounted, low-grade fuel, particularly from Russia, entering Africa under the radar. With price caps and excess capacity, Russian traders are flooding African markets with cheap, poorly regulated blends. These are difficult to trace and, according to experts, dangerous to public health and engine safety.
Dangote called for protective measures, akin to those in the U.S., Canada, and the EU, where domestic industries are shielded by stringent fuel quality standards, fair taxation, and prioritised logistics.
Policy Recommendations and Vision
Dangote concluded his address by urging African governments and policymakers to seize the opportunity to boost local refining capacity, harmonise standards, and protect local investments like his.
“It defies logic for Africa to keep exporting crude and importing poverty,” he said. “We are more than capable of producing our own refined products closer to the source and to the people.”
Analysts say the Dangote Refinery, once fully integrated, could supply up to 50% of Nigeria’s refined fuel needs and significantly reduce the country’s dependency on imports. But this will only be possible if policy, logistics, and market access are aligned with industrial efforts.
As the conference concluded, participants from across the West African energy sector echoed the same concern: Africa must stop being a dumping ground and start being a refining hub.
