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Dangote Offsets West Africa Clean Fuel Imports

[ June 12, 2026   //   ]

Imports of clean petroleum products into West Africa fell 44 percent year over year during April and May, reducing tanker demand and cutting the region’s share of global clean petroleum product tonne miles from 5.3 percent to 3.6 percent, according to BIMCO.

The shipping association said imports declined to 642,000 barrels per day from 1.14 million barrels per day during the same period in 2025. LR1 and LR2 product tankers experienced the sharpest declines in tonne-mile demand, falling 88 percent and 78 percent, respectively.

BIMCO Chief Shipping Analyst Niels Rasmussen attributed much of the decline to a reduced role for offshore storage operations near Lome, Togo, which historically served as a redistribution hub for fuel shipments across West Africa.

Nigeria, previously the largest recipient of re-exported volumes from Lome, is increasingly meeting domestic demand through the Dangote refinery. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit, the refinery supplied nearly 80 percent of Nigeria’s gasoline demand in April and could eventually meet as much as 90 percent.

BIMCO said further expansion plans at Dangote could increase exports while reducing the need for imported fuel and offshore storage operations, potentially reshaping tanker demand patterns across the region.

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