Dangote’s push into Europe’s diesel market has hit a stumbling block as buyers raise concerns over sulfur levels and the region’s stricter winter fuel requirements.

Africa’s biggest refinery, the 650,000-barrels-per-day Dangote Petroleum Refinery, is confronting a fresh reputational setback as European traders and fuel importers decline to buy its diesel due to off-specification quality issues.

According to market sources and traders who spoke to Argus, samples of Dangote’s diesel taken in mid-November showed sulfur and other components far above European winter fuel specifications, rendering the product unfit for blending or sale in the region’s increasingly tight diesel market.

Oilprice.com reports that even with Europe bracing for significant supply disruptions from January 21, when the EU will enforce a sanctions package banning imports of fuels refined from Russian crude, a loophole currently exploited in countries such as India, buyers are still avoiding Nigerian cargoes.

The challenge, sources told Argus, is not price arbitrage, but the fact that the fuel is “off-spec.” One European distillates trader cited compounds in the Dangote diesel that far exceeded Germany’s winter standards, while a Nigerian source familiar with the matter confirmed that the refinery “can’t supply winter diesel, at present, to the colder regions of Europe.”

Operational Strains, RFCCU Challenges Shadow Expansion Plans

The setback lands at a sensitive moment for Dangote, which has been aggressively positioning itself to expand output, broaden export destinations, and eventually operate as the world’s largest single-train refinery.

Yet its ambitious plans have repeatedly collided with technical and operational challenges, including unplanned outages, a recent worker strike, and what refinery insiders described as suspected sabotage during restructuring efforts.

Central to these struggles is the refinery’s long-standing difficulties with its Residue Fluid Catalytic Cracking Unit (RFCCU), a critical component designed to convert heavy oil into lighter products such as diesel and gasoline.

The unit, which is central to gasoline production, has suffered multiple outages including a major shutdown in late August 2025 after catalyst leaks were detected. What was meant to be a short repair window extended into months, forcing the refinery to run at reduced rates whenever the unit was online.

These unplanned stoppages, along with periodic maintenance across other key units, have led to several full or partial shutdowns to carry out repairs.

As a result, the refinery has struggled to sustain production near its 650,000-barrels-per-day design capacity since inauguration.

While management insists the fluctuations are normal for a new mega-facility still stabilizing operations, the ongoing disruptions continue to limit output and slow the transition from test runs to consistent, commercial-scale production.

As European markets turn away from Dangote’s diesel, the refinery now faces renewed pressure to resolve quality inconsistencies, stabilize operations, and protect its long-term goal of emerging as a global refining heavyweight. (Business Insider Africa)