Indian oil refiners have switched from Russian crude to Nigerian oil, while the Dangote Refinery in Nigeria is now depending heavily on West Texas Intermediate crude from the United States.
This change follows a warning from US President Donald Trump, threatening sanctions on India if it continued to buy oil from Russia.
Industry insiders told Reuters that Indian Oil Corporation recently purchased one million barrels of Nigeria’s Agbami crude for delivery in September 2025. The deal was handled through a tender awarded to global trading company Trafigura.
The purchase also included one million barrels of Angola’s Girassol crude, one million barrels of US Mars crude, three million barrels of Abu Dhabi’s Murban crude, and two million more barrels from Nigeria.
According to Reuters, these deals are part of a bigger strategy by Indian refiners to secure oil from non-Russian suppliers since July 2025.
In the Nigerian crude market, Indian refiners have made fresh purchases, while the $20 billion Dangote Refinery in Lagos is now sourcing around 60% of its oil from the US and other foreign suppliers to keep its operations running.
Data shows that in July 2025, Dangote Refinery imported an average of 10 million barrels of crude. Despite having a naira-for-crude arrangement with the Nigerian government since October last year, the refinery is increasingly looking abroad for supply.
Reuters also reported that Indian Oil Corporation and Bharat Petroleum each purchased a million barrels of non-Russian crude for September and October deliveries, after the US urged India to stop buying Russian oil.
Since 2022, Indian state-owned refiners had reduced purchases of Nigerian oil, focusing instead on cheaper Russian crude during the Russia-Ukraine war. But in late July 2025, they paused Russian imports following pressure from President Trump.
For Dangote Refinery, data from analytics firm Kpler revealed that in July, about 60% of its crude came from the US, with Nigerian oil making up the other 40%.
July also marked a record for Dangote’s imports, hitting 590,000 barrels per day, with US supplies overtaking Nigerian oil for the first time. This shift, Kpler said, is due to several supply and pricing factors.
Kpler noted that although US crude has been a major part of Dangote’s imports since March, this was the first month it surpassed Nigerian crude, highlighting a significant change in sourcing strategy.
