Nigeria’s 650,000-barrel-per-day Dangote refinery has imported 2 million barrels of crude from ADNOC of ​the United Arab Emirates, traders told Reuters, marking ‌its first such purchases of crude from the Middle Eastern producer.

The purchases come as global crude markets have weakened sharply ​as more oil shipments transited the Strait ​of Hormuz following the U.S.-Iran ceasefire earlier ⁠this month and as demand in Asia has ​weakened, freeing up more Middle Eastern crude supply for ​other regions.

Dangote imported one cargo of Umm Lulu crude and another of either Das or Murban crude in June, three ​sources told Reuters. The Dangote refinery declined to ​comment, while ADNOC did not immediately respond to a Reuters ‌request ⁠for comment.

The refinery receives about five to seven crude cargoes a month from Nigeria’s state-owned NNPC, benefiting from lower shipping costs, but has previously said ​it requires about ​13 to ⁠15 cargoes per month.

The Dangote refinery, which has turned into a major exporter ​of middle distillates to Europe due ​to ⁠fuel shortages linked to disruption of shipping through the strait, also sourced up to 65,000 bpd of Libyan ⁠crude ​in May, according to Kpler ​data.

REUTERS