Ghana is considering sourcing petroleum products from Nigeria’s Dangote Oil Refinery once it reaches full operational capacity.
Gatekeepers News reports that Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, the chairman of the National Petroleum Authority of Ghana disclosed this at the OTL Africa Downstream oil conference in Lagos, according to Reuters.
This shift could potentially eliminate Ghana’s monthly fuel imports from Europe, which currently amount to $400 million.
“If the refinery reaches 650,000 bpd a day capacity, all that volume cannot be consumed by Nigeria alone, so instead of us importing as we do right now from Rotterdam, it will be much easier for us to import from Nigeria and I believe that will bring down our prices,” Abdul-Hamid said.
Abdul-Hamid highlighted that importing fuel from Nigeria would likely lower costs for various goods and services by removing freight expenses. He also mentioned the possibility of African nations agreeing on a common currency in the future, which could reduce the reliance on the dollar.
Ghana’s economy demonstrated robust growth, expanding by 6.9% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2024, largely driven by a significant increase in the extractive sector, resulting in heightened fuel demand.
The Dangote Oil Refinery, established by Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote, is projected to operate at near full capacity by the end of this year, with analysts forecasting full operations by the first quarter of 2025.