Blue Economy
How NPA’s One-Stop-Shop is Turning Nigeria Into Africa’s Petroleum Export Powerhouse
How NPA’s One-Stop-Shop is Turning Nigeria Into Africa’s Petroleum Export Powerhouse
By Okeoghene Onoriobe | Waterways News Correspondent | Lagos
Nigeria’s ambition to reposition itself as a continental energy supplier is no longer a policy aspiration — it is now producing measurable results on the water.
The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has revealed that it coordinated the export of more than 500,000 tonnes of petroleum products from the Dangote Refinery to African markets in the month of March alone, marking what the authority describes as a pivotal demonstration of the country’s growing capacity as a regional energy hub.
The disclosure came from NPA Managing Director, Dr Abubakar Dantsoho, during a high-level stakeholders’ engagement hosted by the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy in Lagos. For an industry long accustomed to bad news on indigenous capacity, the figures were striking.
“As a matter of fact, in the past month, we exported over 500,000 tonnes of petroleum products from Dangote Refinery to African countries. The exports are handled by ships, supported by the NPA’s capacity in port and cargo operations,” Dantsoho told the gathering.
What makes the achievement especially significant is its timing. Global vessel movements have been severely disrupted by the ongoing tensions across the Middle East, rattling supply chains and triggering energy shortages in several countries. Yet Nigeria’s domestic and export petroleum corridors held firm — a contrast Dantsoho was quick to draw.
At the heart of the operation is a One-Stop-Shop (OSS) framework deployed at the Dangote Refinery terminal, introduced at the direction of Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Dr Adegboyega Oyetola. The system functions much like the National Single Window initiative at the nation’s ports, drawing all government agencies and private terminal operators into a single, coordinated workflow.
“This system operates similarly to the National Single Window, ensuring efficiency and coordination,” Dantsoho said, noting that all stakeholders now operate in sync with the refinery’s distribution architecture.
The statement was released through the NPA’s General Manager for Corporate Communications and Strategy, Mr Ikechukwu Onyemekara.
For Nigeria’s maritime sector, the March figures carry deeper significance. They represent a tangible step in the country’s long-stated ambition to transition from a net importer of refined petroleum to a net exporter — and they signal that the port infrastructure and maritime logistics necessary to sustain that transition are beginning to come online.
The question now is whether the momentum can be sustained and scaled.
NIGERIA WATCH
A Waterways News monitor of maritime developments across Africa and their implications for Nigeria
Djibouti Opens East Africa’s Largest Shipyard — And Nigeria Should Be Paying Close Attention
While Nigeria’s ports are celebrating export milestones, a critical piece of maritime infrastructure has just been unveiled less than 3,000 kilometres away — and its implications for Africa’s ship repair landscape are hard to ignore.
Djibouti has officially inaugurated the Djibouti Ship Repair Yard (DSRY), built in partnership with the globally respected Damen Shipyards Group and financed to the tune of $120 million by Invest International. According to the Djibouti Ports and Free Zones Authority, the facility is now the largest ship repair yard across the Red Sea and East Africa combined.
The centrepiece of the complex is a floating dock stretching 217 metres in length and 43 metres in width, capable of lifting vessels weighing up to 20,100 tonnes. The yard is designed to handle everything from routine preventive maintenance to complex corrective repairs, blending international technical expertise with local workforce development.
President Ismail Omar Guelleh, speaking at the inauguration, described the shipyard as a long-standing national priority, anchored in Djibouti’s enviable geographic position at the mouth of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait — one of the planet’s most transited maritime corridors. The project feeds directly into the country’s Vision 2035 agenda, which aims to entrench Djibouti as the dominant maritime hub of East Africa.
For Nigeria, the message embedded in this development should not be lost. West Africa’s largest economy — home to the Gulf of Guinea, Africa’s most active oil-producing waters and a coastline that handles billions of dollars in cargo annually — continues to lag woefully in ship repair and dry-docking infrastructure. Nigerian-flagged and Nigeria-trading vessels routinely travel to yards in Europe, Asia, and now increasingly East Africa, to carry out maintenance that could and should be performed at home.
The Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF), recently reactivated with over 60 applications received, and the Coastal and Inland Shipping (Cabotage) Act are existing frameworks that could anchor a dedicated push toward ship repair infrastructure development. But frameworks alone do not build floating docks.
Djibouti’s $120 million wager on ship repair capacity — backed by an international development finance institution and a world-class shipbuilding partner — offers Nigeria a workable template. The combination of sovereign vision, development finance, and private sector expertise is achievable. What is required is the political will and institutional focus to pursue it.
As Nigeria consolidates its new identity as a petroleum export nation, the vessels doing that work must one day be built, maintained, and repaired in Nigerian waters. Djibouti is not waiting for Nigeria to figure that out.
Waterways News | Covering Nigeria’s waterways, blue economy, and maritime trade.