DMEA - Downstream Middle East & Africa

Fitch says Turkey’s Petkim suffering from “structural overcapacity in European chemicals market”

Turkish petrochemical producer Petkim (IST: PETKM) is suffering from “structural overcapacity in the European chemicals market”, according to Fitch Ratings.

Nigeria crude offers exceeded completed refinery deals by 70mn barrels — NUPRC

Nigerian crude producers offered 182mn barrels to domestic refiners between January and August 2026, but transactions were completed for 112mn barrels, leaving a 70mn-barrel gap between offers and deals

France’s Technip Energies wins Petkim contracts for proposed Turkish petrochemical complex

France’s Technip Energies has secured engineering and technology contracts from Petkim for a proposed integrated petrochemical complex at Aliağa in Türkiye.

Nigerian court orders regulator to keep issuing fuel-import licences to Matrix, AA Rano and AYM Shafa

The ruling preserves a legal route for fuel imports as Nigeria reduces reliance on foreign supply, leaving NMDPRA to balance domestic refining, competition and supply security.

Saudi Aramco considers oil discounts for Asian buyers

Saudi Aramco is weighing offering discounts on official selling prices (OSP) for oil being loaded near Oman to balance out a significant increase in freight rates.

Ghana fuel marketers warn new tax rule threatens supply

Ghana’s fuel marketers are seeking suspension of Section 136 of the Customs Act, warning that shifting petroleum-tax liability to bulk suppliers could raise financing costs, delay revenue and threaten fuel supply.

Kenya PBO warns $354mn energy-project shift to infrastructure fund could cause delays

Kenya’s Parliamentary Budget Office warns that moving $354mn of energy and petroleum projects to the National Infrastructure Fund could delay construction and raise financing costs.

Rwanda activates Kenya fuel-import framework with first 40,000-tonne Mombasa cargo

Rwanda has begun importing fuel through Kenya under a new state-backed framework, adding Mombasa to its existing Tanga route and expanding procurement flexibility.

Middle East crude flows claw back lost ground

Buoyed by a restart of the East-West pipeline and record ship-to-ship activity off Oman, regional crude exports have recovered to roughly four-fifths of pre-war levels.

West Africa: ECOWAS Bank approves about $400mn for gold, rail, fuel and climate projects

Kenya court order adds land hurdle to $16bn Dangote refinery launch

A Kenyan court has ordered parties to maintain the status quo on disputed land earmarked for Dangote’s $15bn-$16bn Lamu refinery ahead of the September 30 groundbreaking.

Nigeria petroleum regulator sets out 138-rule competition draft

Nigeria’s midstream and downstream petroleum regulator has proposed a 138-regulation framework covering competition, infrastructure access, pricing practices and abuse of market dominance in the country’s petroleum sector.

Nigeria court orders regulator to grant fuel import licences when conditions are met

A Federal High Court in Abuja has ruled that Nigerian petroleum marketers Matrix Energy, A.A. Rano Nigeria and AYM Shafa are entitled to petroleum product import licences when they meet NMDPRA standards.

Nigeria’s Dangote named African Energy Person of the Year as refinery expansion gathers pace

The award comes as Dangote Petroleum Refinery advances a $14.3bn expansion that would double capacity to 1.4mn bpd and pursues new refining and fuel-distribution projects in Kenya and elsewhere in Africa.

Kenya fast-tracks Dangote's $16bn Lamu refinery before September 30 groundbreaking

Kenya is accelerating approvals for Dangote’s planned 700,000-bpd Lamu refinery, but financing, crude supply and infrastructure remain major hurdles.

Uganda’s Kingfisher oil processing facility reaches 99% completion ahead of first oil

Kingfisher is nearing operational readiness, but Uganda’s first-oil timetable still depends on synchronising the field with Tilenga and the EACOP export system.

Tanzania revives gas-to-fertiliser push as $42bn LNG project advances

Tanzania is renewing plans to use domestic natural gas for fertiliser production as the $1.3bn ESSA urea project tests gas pricing and execution.

EnerSyn-linked venture plans $4mn CNG station in Nigeria's Lagos

EnerSyn Global said that China Gas Africa Clean Energy Investment Holdings (CGA), a joint venture it is in the process of acquiring an interest in, plans a $4mn compressed natural gas mother station in Lagos, Nigeria.

Israel's Navitas takes over as operator of South Africa Orange Basin block after Eco farm-down

Navitas Petroleum has assumed operatorship of Block 1 CBK offshore South Africa after acquiring 37.5% from Eco, with the partners now advancing seismic work and a planned two-well exploration programme in the Orange Basin.

Indian Oil buys 2mn barrels of Iraqi crude at $28 discount

Indian Oil Corporation, India’s largest refiner, has bought 2mn barrels of Iraqi Basra Medium and Basra Heavy crude at a discount of about $28 a barrel to the October Dubai benchmark.

Morocco puts African Atlantic Gas Pipeline into UN financing pitch as Q4 FID target looms

Morocco is pushing the $25bn African Atlantic Gas Pipeline into multilateral and private financing channels as construction funding remains unresolved and a Q4 2026 FID target approaches.

Kenya's South Lokichar oil project advances as drilling rig arrives in Mombasa

Gulf Energy has received the GW70 drilling rig in Mombasa ahead of South Lokichar drilling, with first oil still targeted for December 2026.

Gas-tastrophe! Global energy chiefs drill for more while their own seeps away

The global gas industry is spending billions of dollars drilling new fields, constructing LNG terminals and securing supply routes while allowing huge quantities of the commodity it already produces to leak, vent or burn into the atmosphere.

Nigeria targets Chinese manufacturers for local oil-and-gas production

Nigeria’s local-content regulator said it engaged more than 100 Chinese original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) as it sought to attract manufacturing, assembly and technology investment into the country’s oil and gas supply chain.

Ardova-led consortium agrees to acquire Nigerian CNG producer Powergas

Ardova and Diadem Energy have agreed to acquire Powergas from A.P. Moller Capital, expanding Ardova’s presence in Nigeria’s compressed natural gas market.

Nigeria petrol imports fall 26% in August as Dangote accounts for 71% of receipts

Nigeria’s petroleum regulator said petrol imports fell 26% in August to 14.6mn litres per day, while domestic Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) receipts rose 39% to 35.9mn litres per day.

DP World signs draft deal on $7bn Nigerian port and industrial zone

Nigeria's Tinubu said the broader corridor would include the long-delayed Olokola (OK LNG) project, which Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd (NNPCL) has been seeking to revive.

West African Development Bank approves $273mn in WAEMU financing, backs $1.49bn wider package

BOAD approved about $108mn for oil, gas storage and fuel-supply projects in Togo, Benin and Mali as part of a $273mn WAEMU financing package.

Dangote, Ethiopian Investment Holdings launch $660mn Djibouti fuel pipeline project

Nigeria's Dangote Group and Ethiopian Investment Holdings have launched a $660mn fuel pipeline project linking Djibouti with Ethiopia.

Nigerian government admits refinery rehabilitation works have failed

Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Heineken Lokpobiri has admitted that the country’s state-owned refineries remain moribund despite $ $1.5bn having been spent on their rehabilitation.

Saudi Arabia denies responsibility for increasing Iraqi shipping costs

Saudi Arabia is denying claims that it has raised the cost of transporting Iraqi oil by purchasing 25 new oil tankers, according to Reuters.

Dangote cuts Nigeria petrol price as wholesale market eases

Nigeria’s 650,000-barrel-per-day Dangote Petroleum Refinery cut its ex-gantry petrol price by NGN25 to NGN1,325 ($1.00) a litre, effective September 21, partially reversing an NGN85 increase earlier in the month.

Djibouti expands fuel corridor with rail-linked terminal for direct shipments to Ethiopia

A new petroleum terminal at Djibouti’s Doraleh port will add 288,000 cubic metres of storage and enable direct rail loading of Ethiopia-bound fuel from 2027.

Nigeria jet fuel exports triple as Europe turns to new suppliers

Nigerian jet fuel exports to Europe tripled during summer supply disruptions, supplying almost a fifth of imports as Nigeria deepened ties with the IEA.

Iran’s petchem gas feedstock prices climb 166% in six months

Iran has lifted the price of natural gas supplied as feedstock to petrochemical plants by around 166% in the first six months of the current Persian calendar year, according to a tariff schedule issued by the National Iranian Petrochemical Co.