Dangote Petroleum Refinery has been allocated 10 crude oil cargoes for December loading by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), double the five shipments allocated for November, according to a report by Argus.
The allocation covers several Nigerian crude grades, including light sweet, medium sweet and heavy sweet varieties, providing the 700,000-barrel-per-day refinery in Lekki, Lagos State, with supplies from multiple domestic streams.
The December schedule comprises two cargoes each of Qua Iboe, Bonny Light and Antan crude. The remaining allocations include one cargo each of Amenam, Escravos, Utapate and Okwori.
Four of the 10 shipments are partial cargoes, according to the sources. The allocation represents an increase of five cargoes from the previous month.
Nigeria’s overall crude oil and condensate export programme is scheduled to average 1.67 million barrels per day in December, with 57 cargoes listed across 17 available grades.
The increased allocation comes as Dangote continues to expand its ambitions in the African refining and energy markets. Earlier this week, the company disclosed plans under consideration to build another 700,000-barrel-per-day refinery in Africa, in addition to its existing Lekki facility and a second refinery project under construction in Kenya.
Dangote has also acquired a 25 percent stake in Kenyan pipeline operator Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC), strengthening its presence in East Africa’s petroleum infrastructure market.
The December crude allocation and the company’s wider expansion plans highlight its growing role in the regional refining sector. However, the allocation schedule does not, on its own, establish whether all 10 cargoes will ultimately be delivered to the refinery.