Nigerian billionaire and President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has dismissed claims that the United States is opposed to the operations of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, stating that US President Donald Trump is “more than happy” with the facility.
Dangote said the United States is not a rival to the refinery but one of its major beneficiaries, noting that it supplies a significant volume of crude oil to the plant and benefits from the scale of the business involved, making the trade relationship mutually beneficial.
He spoke on Sunday during a press briefing at the Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lekki, Lagos State, where he disclosed that the facility continues to rely on imported crude oil due to Nigeria’s inability to meet domestic supply requirements.
According to him, inadequate local crude production has compelled Nigeria to source oil from neighbouring African countries, including Ghana, as well as from the United States.
“We are not getting enough crude, so that’s why we buy from Ghana and a few other African countries. We also buy from the US,” he said.
Dangote described the United States as one of Nigeria’s major crude oil suppliers and rejected reports suggesting that President Trump is unhappy with the refinery’s operations or its funding structure.
“The US has been one of our major suppliers of crude, which is why when someone says Trump is not happy with our refinery, it’s not true. Trump is more than happy with our refinery because of the scale of business involved,” Dangote said.
He added that Nigeria purchases an average of over 100 million barrels of crude oil from the United States annually, with the potential for the volume to increase to about 200 million barrels per year if supply is doubled.
Dangote further disclosed that Nigeria supplies the United States with aviation fuel and gasoline, highlighting the reciprocal nature of the energy trade relationship between both countries.
