Industry experts and operators are calling for sustained investment in logistics infrastructure to support Africa’s growing petroleum refining sector. They highlight the ex-Lomé offshore trading hub as a key component of West Africa’s supply chain—providing flexible parcel trading, security, and efficient logistics that complement new refining projects like Nigeria’s Dangote refinery. Speaking at a MEMAN–S&P Global webinar, experts stressed the need to maintain multiple supply routes and trading hubs amid structural changes in West Africa’s downstream sector driven by new capacity, shifting trade flows, and evolving global dynamics.
At the event “West Africa Fuels Landscape: Market Fundamentals and Geopolitical Drivers,” experts discussed how geopolitics, supply shifts, and pricing benchmarks are reshaping refined products in the region.The ex-Lomé hub was highlighted as a vital distribution platform.MEMAN chairman Huub Stokman said rising refining capacity, especially in Nigeria, is transforming supply dynamics, noting the event’s timeliness after petrol deregulation.S&P Global’s Gary Clark added that the Dangote refinery is keeping more petrol in West Africa and exporting jet fuel, though import reliance remains due to possible outages and volatility.
At a webinar on West Africa’s fuel markets, experts stressed the Dangote refinery’s transformative role, reshaping trade flows by keeping more gasoil in the region and enabling jet fuel exports. However, reliance on imports persists, as outages and maintenance can quickly trigger volatility, reinforcing the importance of the ex-Lomé hub.Platts introduced new regional pricing benchmarks, including diesel assessments for Lekki, Lagos, Lomé, and Togo, to reflect local realities and enhance transparency.
MEMAN’s Ogechi Nkwoji described ex-Lomé as a practical offshore hub developed to bypass onshore bottlenecks, offering deep water access, security, flexible lot sizes, and same-day trades, making it central to regional distribution and price discovery.S&P Global’s Matthew Tracey-Cook highlighted Dangote refinery’s outsized influence on markets, citing an August outage that spiked gasoline cracks from $13 to over $17 per barrel. He noted Platts’ shift to benchmarking against forward swaps strips for more accurate pricing.Finally, experts observed that while Europe remains a key supplier, its direct exports to Nigeria have declined, with more products now routed through regional hubs like Lomé for redistribution.
Experts at a MEMAN–S&P Global webinar stressed that while Dangote refinery boosts capacity, West Africa still needs multiple supply channels and hubs like ex-Lomé for stability. Discussions covered supply flows, subsidy removal, smuggling, and regulation—highlighting that policy stability, transparency, and investment-friendly frameworks are key to resilience. The ex-Lomé hub remains central for flexible supply, price discovery, and market balance in a shifting regional fuels landscape.
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