Nigerian billionaire and President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has dismissed claims that the United States is opposed to the operations of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, stating that US President Donald Trump is, in fact, “more than happy” with the facility.

Dangote explained that the United States is not a rival to the refinery but one of its major beneficiaries, as it supplies a significant volume of crude oil to the plant.

The oil giant added that the scale of the business involved making trade relationship mutually beneficial.

Speaking during a press briefing on Sunday at the Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lekki, Lagos State, Dangote revealed that the facility continues to depend on imported crude oil due to Nigeria’s inability to meet domestic supply demands.

According to him, inadequate local crude production has forced Nigeria to source oil from neighbouring African countries such as Ghana, as well as from the United States.

“We are not getting enough crude, so that’s why we buy from Ghana and a few other African countries. We also buy from the US,” he said.

Dangote further described the United States as one of Nigeria’s major crude oil suppliers and rejected reports suggesting that Trump is unhappy with the refinery’s operations or its funding structure.

He noted that the US benefits substantially from the trade arrangement, given the large volume of crude oil Nigeria imports annually.

“The US has been one of our major suppliers of crude, which is why when someone says Trump is not happy with our refinery, it’s not true. Trump is more than happy with our refinery because of the scale of business involved,” Dangote said.

He added that Nigeria purchases an average of over 100 million barrels of crude oil from the United States each year, with the potential for the volume to rise to about 200 million barrels annually if supply is doubled.

Dangote also disclosed that Nigeria supplies the US with aviation fuel and gasoline, underscoring the reciprocal nature of the energy trade relationship between both countries.