President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has refuted reports suggesting that the United States is opposed to the operations of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, insisting that US President Donald Trump is supportive of the project and benefits from its activities.
Dangote said claims portraying the United States as hostile to the refinery are misleading, stressing that the country is not a competitor but a key partner and major supplier of crude oil to the facility.
He explained that the scale of transactions between both countries makes the relationship economically beneficial, noting that the refinery relies heavily on imported crude due to Nigeria’s limited domestic supply.
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Dangote spoke on Sunday during a press briefing at the Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lekki, Lagos State, where he revealed that insufficient local crude production has compelled Nigeria to source oil from other countries, including Ghana and 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.
According to him, the United States remains one of Nigeria’s biggest crude oil suppliers, making reports of dissatisfaction by Trump over the refinery’s operations or financing structure unfounded.
Dangote emphasised that the volume of crude oil trade alone makes the refinery advantageous to the US, dismissing suggestions of political or economic opposition from Washington.
“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,” he said.
He disclosed that Nigeria imports an average of more than 100 million barrels of crude oil from the United States annually, adding that the figure could rise to about 200 million barrels per year if supply levels are increased.
Dangote also noted that the energy relationship is not one-sided, revealing that Nigeria exports aviation fuel and gasoline to the US, further highlighting what he described as a mutually beneficial trade partnership between the two countries.
