Nigeria Emerges as Key Crude Supplier to Senegal’s Dakar Refinery
Nigeria has become the main supplier of crude oil to Senegal’s only refinery, the 30,000-barrels-per-day (bpd) Dakar Refinery, even as Senegal joins the ranks of oil-producing nations.
A new report by energy analytics firm Kpler revealed that Senegal began producing oil in mid-2024 from the Sangomar field, which yields around 100,000 bpd of medium sour crude (31° API, 1.0% sulphur). However, nearly all of this crude is being exported to Europe—mainly Spain, Italy, and the Netherlands—rather than refined locally.
Kpler’s data shows that the Dakar Refinery is technically configured to process lighter, sweeter crude grades, making Nigeria’s Erha crude (36° API, 0.2% sulphur) a better fit. As a result, Senegal has been importing an average of 30,000 bpd of Erha crude from Nigeria in recent months to sustain refinery operations.
“Senegal’s 30 kbd Dakar refinery, configured to process lighter, sweeter crudes, is currently running on Nigeria’s Erha crude (36° API, 0.2 per cent sulphur), with imports into Dakar averaging 30 kbd in recent months,” Kpler stated.
Industry analysts explained that the Sangomar crude would need to be blended before it could be processed locally, meaning Nigeria will continue to play a vital role in meeting Senegal’s crude requirements in the near term.
However, crude supply represents just one aspect of Senegal’s broader energy dependency. The country continues to import 90,000–100,000 bpd of refined fuels, including gasoil, diesel, and fuel oil—with Russia providing up to 60% of these imports between 2024 and 2025.
The report concluded that with half to two-thirds of refined fuel imports sourced from Russia and crude supply from Nigeria, Senegal’s energy system remains heavily reliant on external partners.
Looking ahead, Phase 2 of the Sangomar project, expected to introduce 33 new wells by 2027, could expand production capacity. Yet analysts predict that Senegal’s crude output will likely stay around 100,000 bpd for several years, ensuring that Nigerian crude and Russian refined products remain central to the country’s domestic energy stability in the short to medium term.
