Nigeria’s seaborne refined petroleum exports to Europe surged by nearly 767% to 130,000 barrels per day (b/d) in the second quarter of 2026, up from just 15,000 b/d recorded in 2023.
Data released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), based on Vortexa shipping analytics, confirms that expanded output from the 650,000 b/d Dangote refinery is rapidly reshaping historic Atlantic Basin trade flows.
Overall Nigerian refined fuel exports reached 350,000 b/d in Q2 2026, rising dramatically from an annual average of 46,000 b/d in 2023, while intra-African shipments climbed to nearly 120,000 b/d.
Concurrently, domestic seaborne deliveries surged to 211,000 b/d, driving down national petroleum imports from 400,000 b/d in 2023 to under 130,000 b/d, solidifying the nation’s transition toward domestic energy self-sufficiency.
“Products shipments expanded notably twice: first after operations at Dangote began and again following the completion of maintenance and expansion in February 2026, coinciding with supply constraints out of the Strait of Hormuz.” EIA noted in its report.
The supply expansion follows the successful completion of debottlenecking and maintenance operations at the Lekki mega-refinery in February 2026, which unlocked full operational capacity across its distillation and secondary processing units.
This operational milestone follows official central bank data showing Nigeria’s gross foreign exchange reserves crossed the $52 billion threshold, bolstered by reduced foreign exchange outflows previously allocated toward offshore fuel imports.
European refiners now face tightening margin pressures as high-spec Nigerian gasoil and gasoline compete directly for market share across Northwest Europe and the Mediterranean basin.
