Dangote Refinery is preparing to export its first gasoline cargo beyond West Africa, with a 90,000 metric ton shipment bound for Asia, according to a source familiar with the matter.
The cargo, set to be loaded by trading firm Mercuria on June 22, marks a significant milestone for the 650,000 barrel-per-day facility as it deepens its presence in the global fuel market.
Until now, all gasoline exports from the refinery, Africa’s largest, have been limited to West African countries.
This new shipment to Asia signals a shift in trading patterns and a broader push by the refinery to establish itself as a key player on the international stage.
In April, the refinery also shipped low-sulfur straight-run fuel oil (LSSR) to Singapore, further illustrating its reach into Asian markets.
LSSR is often blended to produce low-sulfur fuel oil (LSFO) for marine use or used as a refining feedstock, making it a valuable product in global energy supply chains.
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The refinery’s global expansion is not limited to Asia.
It has exported jet fuel to Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest energy firm, and has supplied the United States with approximately 1.7 million barrels of jet fuel across six vessels in recent months.
These moves underscore the facility’s growing footprint in the international energy sector.
Earlier this year, the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) noted that Dangote’s refining operations in Nigeria are beginning to disrupt fuel supply patterns in Europe.
Experts have warned that the facility could eventually upend the long-standing $17 billion-a-year gasoline trade from Europe to Africa, shifting the continent’s dependence from European refineries to homegrown production.
In a major signal of its scale, the Dangote Refinery was recently ranked above the ten largest refineries in Europe in terms of processing capacity.
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