Nigeria has emerged as a key crude oil supplier to Senegal’s 30,000-barrels-per-day Dakar Refinery, even as Senegal celebrated its entry into the league of oil-producing nations last year. This development highlights the complexities of refinery operations and crude oil specifications in the global energy market.
Senegal began pumping oil in mid-2024 from the Sangomar field, which produces approximately 100,000 barrels per day of medium sour crude with 31-degree API gravity and 1.0 percent sulphur content. According to industry analyst Kpler, virtually all of this production is exported to Europe, with Spain, Italy, and the Netherlands receiving the bulk of cargoes.
Despite being an oil producer, Senegal cannot supply its sole refinery with its own crude. Industry data reveals that the 30,000-barrel-per-day Dakar Refinery is configured to process lighter, sweeter crude grades, making Sangomar’s heavier, more sulphurous crude unsuitable for its processing units.
Instead, the refinery has turned to Nigeria’s Erha crude, which has 36-degree API gravity and 0.2 percent sulphur content, fitting the refinery’s processing specifications. Kpler reports that in recent months, Nigeria has supplied approximately 30,000 barrels per day of Erha crude to Dakar, establishing Nigeria’s role as a critical supplier for Senegal’s refining operations.
Refineries are designed and built to handle specific crude oil specifications. The Dakar facility was engineered for light, low-sulphur oil, making Nigerian grades like Erha an excellent match. Sangomar crude would require blending before it could be processed locally at the Dakar facility.
However, Nigerian crude exports only fulfill part of Senegal’s total fuel demand. The country remains heavily dependent on refined product imports. Between 2024 and 2025, Senegal imported 90 to 100,000 barrels per day of fuels, with as much as 60 percent originating from Russia, primarily gasoil, diesel, and fuel oil.
This situation indicates that while Senegal is an oil-exporting country, it relies on Nigeria for crude refinery feedstock and simultaneously depends on Russia for finished fuel products.
With Phase 2 of Sangomar under review, involving 33 new wells and a tentative 2027 start-up date, Kpler expects the country’s crude output and exports to remain steady at 100,000 barrels per day for the next few years. This leaves Nigerian Erha crude and Russian refined products as the pillars of Senegal’s domestic energy balance.
Meanwhile, Nigerian refineries have repeatedly complained about insufficient crude supply to their facilities. The Dangote refinery has stated it is increasingly relying on crude oil imports from the United States to meet daily fuel production requirements.
Source: Punch Nigeria