What began as a bold bet on Africa's largest single-train refinery - the Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lagos - has now evolved into a strategic buffer for the continent: stabilising fuel supply, strengthening macroeconomic resilience and insulating African economies from the cascading shocks triggered by the war in Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
At the heart of this transformation is Afreximbank's decision to underwrite $2.5bn of a $4bn syndicated term loan, the largest share of the facility. This commitment, alongside earlier working capital support and the Bank's leadership of the naira-for-crude initiative, has positioned Nigeria to achieve a milestone once thought distant: becoming a net exporter of refined petroleum products.
For decades Nigeria, Africa's largest oil producer, imported as much as 90% of its refined fuel. This dependence drained the country's foreign exchange reserves, exposed the economy to global price volatility and created chronic supply instability across West and Central Africa.
The Dangote refinery, with its 650,000 barrel per day capacity, has flipped this equation. Backed by Afreximbank's financing, the refinery has ramped up production of diesel, aviation fuel and premium motor spirit, enabling Nigeria to reduce imports dramatically and begin supplying neighbouring markets. The refinery is also supplying Jet A fuel to countries as far flung as India and the US.
Originally published by African Business.