The United States is on track to see its highest jet fuel imports in two years this March, and Nigeria’s Dangote refinery is playing a big part in that growth.

According to Reuters, analysts and storage experts believe this jump in supply could help bring some relief to aviation fuel prices as the busy summer travel season approaches.

The 650,000 barrels-per-day Dangote refinery, the largest refinery in Africa, is quickly becoming a powerful force in the global fuel market.

Its exports are shifting trade patterns and making it a new swing supplier in the Atlantic region.

In March alone, six ships carrying about 1.7 million barrels of jet fuel from Dangote refinery arrived at U.S. ports, based on vessel-tracking data from Kpler.

One more ship, Hafnia Andromeda, is expected to deliver an additional 348,000 barrels to the Everglades terminal on March 29. Altogether, this has pushed total U.S. jet fuel imports to approximately 226,000 barrels per day in March, the highest monthly level since February 2023.

While experts say Nigeria won’t become a regular supplier of jet fuel to the U.S., this sudden surge is linked to a temporary shutdown of the Phillips 66 Bayway refinery in New Jersey.

That situation opened up a rare opportunity for Nigerian fuel to enter the U.S. market, said James Noel-Beswick, an analyst at Sparta Commodities.

However, he also pointed out that the window for this trade could close soon, as U.S. jet fuel inventories are now climbing.

This surge in imports has also led to strong demand for jet fuel storage space in major hubs like Houston and New York Harbor.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that U.S. jet fuel inventories reached 45.2 million barrels at the end of February, the highest level for that month since 1999.

Additionally, refiners’ jet fuel production reached record highs last year, showing that demand for jet fuel is rising faster than for other types of transportation fuel.

The EIA predicts that U.S. jet fuel consumption will hit an all-time high by 2026.

Meanwhile, the Dangote refinery is still working on scaling up its operations.

To meet its current needs, it’s importing crude oil from international suppliers, with the United States being a major contributor.

Since the start of this month, the refinery has received over three million barrels of U.S. crude oil, according to Bloomberg.