LONDON, May 30 (Reuters) - Nigeria's Dangote oil

refinery will import at least five million barrels of U.S. WTI

crude oil in July, three trading sources told Reuters, extending

its buying spree after a potential record tally for June.

The giant new 650,000 barrel per day capacity oil refinery

is set to import around 161,000 bpd of WTI in July after

awarding tenders in recent days, the sources said, off the back

of a record 300,000 bpd booked in its June tenders.

Final totals for the month could change should the refinery

make more purchases.

The buying spree highlights the increasing competition oil

exporters face as the OPEC+ producer group increases output,

with U.S. crudes struggling to compete in Asia against a

six-month low in spot premiums for UAE Murban crude, traders

said.

Commodity trader Vitol supplied two million barrels for July

delivery in the latest Dangote tender, Azeri state-owned Socar

another two million barrels, and miner and trader Glencore ( GLCNF )

sold the remaining one million barrels, the sources

said.

Vitol did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for

comment on the tender result, while Socar and Glencore ( GLCNF ) declined

to comment.

The sellers of the nine million barrels Dangote was to have

bought for June arrival in an earlier tender were not confirmed

by Reuters. Tender details are not made public.

Dangote's previous record for U.S. crude imports was 173,000

bpd in April, data from global shipping analytics firm Kpler

show.

"We can take only what they are giving to us from Nigeria,

this is a known fact. We have to import the rest," said Edwin

Devakumar, head of the Dangote Oil Refinery.

The Dangote refinery's crude diet comprises mainly Nigerian

grades, though it has been purchasing WTI semi-regularly since

March 2024, according to Kpler. In 2025, it has also bought spot

cargoes from Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Algeria, and Brazil, the

data show.

The refinery is expected to operate at reduced rates through

to October due to a series of issues in recent months, according

to industry monitor IIR.

The refinery is now ramping up toward 85% operating

capacity, a spokesperson for the refinery told Reuters. It had

been running at around 80% since mid-March, IIR said.