Business
Dangote Expects First Brazilian Crude Shipment
Dangote Refinery is set to receive its first shipment of Brazil’s crude oil in its bid to achieving full operational capacity.
The purchase of Brazilian crude is a first for Nigeria and Dangote Refinery is billed to import a one-million-barrel cargo of Brazil’s Tupi crude, scheduled for delivery in the latter half of next month.
The Dangote refinery has been pivotal in reducing Nigeria’s reliance on imported fuel.
Despite being Africa’s largest oil producer, Nigeria has historically depended on foreign fuel imports to meet its domestic needs, with its refineries unable to meet demand fpr the product.
Nigeria hopes that importing crude and refining it locally will enhance Nigeria’s energy security, reduce import dependency, and lower fuel prices for Nigerian consumers.
Dangote Refinery’s ability to source crude oil from diverse global suppliers will be key to its success and Nigeria’s broader energy strategy.
The Brazilian crude, sold by Petrobras, is among the most cost-effective and suitable oil grades available on the global market.
Earlier this week, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) reached an agreement with oil producers to supply crude oil to domestic refineries at market prices on Wednesday, ending a supply dispute that had strained relations with international oil companies.
This came after oil majors where chasetised for hindering local crude oil purchases by demanding excessive premiums or claiming that they had no available crude.
This move is part of Nigeria’s broader efforts to secure a stable supply of crude for its refineries at market prices, ensuring that the country’s energy infrastructure is resilient and capable of meeting its needs without over-relying on any single source.
Cornerstone of Financial Services
A survey of more than 1 000 global finance leaders undertaken by digital payment network Ripple shows that 72% of respondents believe they need to offer a digital asset solution to remain competitive.
According to Ripple, leaders from the banking, fintech, corporate and asset management sector have made it clear that the “digital asset revolution is happening now”.
“Digital assets are quickly becoming a cornerstone of financial services, underpinned by progressive regulation, growing interest from Tier-1 banks, a steady consumer shift from banks to fintech providers, and booming stablecoin adoption,” Ripple says.
The survey was conducted in early 2026 and the findings released in March.
Stablecoin Boon or Bane?
Ripple has experienced significant success in the stablecoin sector since launching its Ripple USD (RLUSD) stablecoin in 2024.
With a market cap of $1.56 billion, it is considered a major regulated player in the market.
No doubt the platform was pleased to learn through its own survey that financial leaders were most bullish about stablecoins.
Roughly three-quarters of respondents believed they could boost cash-flow efficiency and unlock trapped working capital.
Ripple noted that finance leaders were thinking about stablecoins as more than “just a new way to execute payments”; instead, they viewed them as effective tools for treasury management.
In March 2026, Ripple began testing a new trade finance model built around RLUSD in a bid to increase the speed of cross-border payments.
The pilot initiative, developed alongside supply chain finance company Unloq [https://unloq.com], is running on the XRP Ledger inside a testing framework developed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
The Asian city-state is one of the platform’s biggest growth markets.
The idea behind the project is to see whether stablecoin-based settlement can streamline trade finance, too often hampered by reliance on intermediaries and slow reconciliation.
The only potential drawback is that if the initiative takes off, the Ripple to USD price could be negatively affected.
Ripple has always championed its native XRP token as a bridge asset, the “middleman” in the process of a financial institution turning dollars in the US into pounds in the UK, for example.
Ripple converts dollars into XRP and then back into pounds.
If RLUSD can do exactly the same thing, questions will be asked about XRP’s relevance.
That is a bridge Ripple will have to cross if it gets to that point.
Tokenisation Partners
Another interesting finding from Ripple’s survey is that most banks and asset managers are seeking tokenisation partners to help execute their strategies.
Some 89% of respondents said digital asset storage and custody were top priority. “Token servicing/lifecycle management also ranks highly for banks at 82%, while asset managers place greater emphasis on primary distribution at 80%,” Ripple found.
The survey also revealed that just more than half of fintechs and financial institutions want an infrastructure provider that can offer a “one-stop-shop solution”. This rose to 71% among corporate financial leaders.
Ripple attributes this to institutions and firms wanting uncomplicated, cohesive systems.
Infrastructure Rules
In its final analysis, Ripple says companies across the board are looking for partners and solutions that are “secure, compliant, battle-tested and that enable growth and execution”.
“The message is clear: infrastructure decisions made today will shape competitive positioning tomorrow.”
No surprise that this is precisely where Ripple is placing much of its focus.
