The Dangote Refinery is set to import at least five million barrels of U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil in July, extending its reliance on foreign crude to maintain production levels at its Lagos-based facility.

According to market sources cited in a recent report, the refinery has finalized contracts to bring in approximately 161,000 barrels per day (bpd) of WTI crude throughout July. This follows record-high purchases in June, where imports reportedly reached 300,000 bpd—the highest monthly volume the facility has ever secured.

The 650,000 bpd-capacity refinery, considered Africa’s largest, has increasingly turned to overseas crude suppliers to compensate for inconsistent local availability.

“We’re only able to process the quantity we receive domestically. The remainder has to come from imports,” said Edwin Devakumar, an executive at the Dangote Oil Refinery.

The facility’s ongoing crude acquisition strategy underscores broader supply chain issues and the gap between Nigeria’s refining ambitions and upstream output capacity.