French energy major, TotalEnergies has secured its first supply agreement with the Dangote Refinery in Nigeria.
The announcement was made on Friday by TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanne during the Africa CEO Forum in Kigali, Rwanda, following a meeting with Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man.
“We met this morning, and we made the first deal between both of us,” Pouyanne revealed during a panel discussion. He further elaborated that the successful negotiation involved both CEOs and TotalEnergies’ head of trading, which led to the agreement.
The Dangote Refinery, which began production in January, boasts a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day (bpd), making it the largest refinery in Africa and Europe once it reaches full capacity.
Aliko Dangote has been actively seeking crude oil supplies for the refinery to ensure its smooth operation.
In May, Dangote Refinery issued a tender for two million barrels of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) Midland crude each month for a year starting in July, according to a tender document seen by Reuters.
The refinery’s construction, which cost $20 billion, aims to reduce Nigeria’s dependence on imported fuel and other refined products despite the country being Africa’s largest oil producer.
Aliko Dangote emphasized the refinery’s capacity to meet not only Nigeria’s fuel needs but also those of the entire African continent and beyond.
“We started producing jet fuel, we are producing diesel, by next month, we’ll be producing gasoline,” Dangote stated during the panel. He highlighted that the refinery’s large capacity would enable it to supply fuel to West, Central, and Southern Africa, as well as export to Brazil.
Dangote also mentioned that the next phase of the refinery’s operations is scheduled to commence early next year, further solidifying its role in transforming Nigeria’s oil industry and supporting regional energy needs.
