Oando Pauses Fuel Trading Business as Dangote Refinery Ramps Up

Oando, a major Nigerian energy independent, has put the brakes on its trading of refined products in what it described as “a deliberate strategic pause” as it remained under pressure from the giant Dangote refinery.

The Wale Tinubu-led company said on Thursday that no petrol cargoes were traded in the first nine months of the year compared to eight in the same period of 2024.

It said the trading division has “rebalanced its portfolio towards higher-margin crude and gas trading opportunities”.

“Across our trading business, refined products volumes remained under pressure, largely due to the well-deserved and expected success of the Dangote refinery in meeting Nigeria’s import needs,” Oando said in an earnings release. “Consequently, our focus had shifted to expanding global crude exports and leveraging structured pre-export transactions, an area in which we have continued to record robust success.”

The company said its revenue declined by 20% year-on-year to N2.5 trillion “primarily due to a reduction in gasoline imports following the ramp-up of the Dangote Refinery, which has positively transformed Nigeria’s refined-product supply landscape, partly offset by stronger upstream contributions”.

The $20 billion refinery, with a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, started producing diesel and jet fuel in January 2024 and petrol in September of the same year.

Oando said profit after tax, however, increased by 164% to N210 billion, driven by stronger production volumes and legacy recoveries.

Capital expenditure rose to N74.9 billion from N26.9 billion, reflecting increased upstream and infrastructure investments, according to Oando.