South Africa Takes the Lead as Africa’s Top Petrol Importer, Surpassing Nigeria
Nigeria has cut down on petrol imports as it ramps up domestic refining capacity, with the Dangote Refinery playing a major role in boosting production.
According to Business Insider Africa, South Africa has surpassed Nigeria to become Africa’s largest importer of petrol, signalling a major shift in the continent’s energy trade dynamics.
The new report by energy consultancy CITAC reveals that Nigeria’s fuel import volumes dropped sharply in the first quarter of 2025, highlighting the Dangote Refinery’s transformative impact.
According to the study, Nigeria imported 3.1 million tonnes of refined petroleum products during the first three months of the year, a significant decline compared to previous years.
In contrast, South Africa imported 4.2 million tonnes during the same period, officially surpassing Nigeria as sub-Saharan Africa’s largest fuel importer.
Nigeria’s shift from heavy reliance on fuel imports to near self-sufficiency is largely credited to recent reforms in the country’s petroleum sector, chief among them, the launch of operations at the Dangote Refinery, the largest in Africa. Meanwhile, the Port Harcourt Refinery was recently shut down for maintenance. The reforms aim to reverse this trend by strengthening local refining output and improving energy self-sufficiency.
In South Africa, the rising import levels are being driven by consistent fuel demand coupled with ongoing constraints in its domestic refining sector. The shutdown of key refineries and delays in upgrading facilities have limited local production, making imports essential to meet demand.
The contrasting trajectories of the two countries highlight broader shifts in Africa’s energy landscape, where investment in refining infrastructure and policy reforms are beginning to redefine long-standing trade patterns.
These changes have been directly linked to the operational gains of the Dangote Refinery. Since the refinery commenced operations in September 2024, Nigeria’s dependence on imported petrol has decreased substantially, due to steady output from the facility.
“Nigerian imports are dropping as a result of the continued operation of Dangote,” said Elitsa Georgieva, Executive Director at CITAC. “Since the beginning of this year, South African imports have been consistently the highest in sub-Saharan Africa.”
The report also notes that crude throughput across sub-Saharan African refineries surged by 77.8% year-on-year in 2024. Average daily output increased from 382,500 barrels per day in 2023 to 680,100 barrels in 2024, an expansion driven almost entirely by the Dangote Refinery.
With a nameplate capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, the refinery ramped up to 550,000 barrels per day by January 2025 and now supplies approximately 60% of Nigeria’s petrol demand.
CITAC projects that Nigeria’s total refined fuel imports for 2025 will fall to 6.4 million tonnes—less than half of South Africa’s projected 15.5 million tonnes.
The Nigerian Economic Summit Group also forecasts that the Dangote Refinery could save the country up to $10 billion in foreign exchange this year, largely by cutting down on costly petrol imports.
South Africa, meanwhile, continues to grapple with persistent challenges in its petroleum sector. Nearly 49% of the country’s refining capacity remains idle, with total capacity slashed by half over the past five years due to a mix of industrial accidents and chronic underinvestment.
As a result, the country now depends on imports to meet more than 60% of its fuel needs, according to Transnet SOC Ltd., the state-owned logistics company.
Key facilities remain offline, including Sapref—the country’s largest refinery, now owned by the Central Energy Fund—which has taken 180,000 barrels per day out of production. Similarly, Engen’s 120,000-barrel-per-day plant, now under Vitol’s ownership, is also shut down.
