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.

(Reporting by ​Seher ‌Dareen and Robert Harvey in London, ⁠Isaac Anyaogu in Lagos. Editing ​by Alex Lawler and Mark Potter)