Nigeria’s recently inaugurated Dangote oil refinery is entering the export market with the issuance of tenders for the sale of its first two fuel cargoes, according to trading sources familiar with the situation.
The refinery, boasting a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, is strategically located on a peninsula near Lagos and was developed by Aliko Dangote, Africa’s wealthiest individual.
Historically dependent on costly fuel imports, Nigeria aims to become a net exporter to neighboring West African nations, signaling a significant shift in the regional energy landscape.
The $20 billion refinery’s potential to alter power dynamics and profit structures within the industry is substantial.
Aliko Dangote declined to comment on the matter.
The initial cargo comprises 65,000 metric tons of low-sulphur straight run fuel oil, awarded to Trafigura, with loading scheduled for the end of February, according to three anonymous sources.
Trafigura, when approached, chose not to provide a statement. One refinery confirmed being offered the cargo by Trafigura, without additional details.
The second tender involves around 60,000 tons of naphtha, with the tender closing on February 15, as per three other sources. Loading specifics were not immediately available.
Last week, sources indicated that the refinery was gearing up to supply its first fuel cargoes to the domestic market in the coming weeks.
The fuels being offered are standard products resulting from processing light sweet crude through a crude distillation unit (CDU) in a refinery, without additional upgrading. Industry experts anticipate that it will take several months for the upgrading units to become operational.
Having initiated crude purchases in December, the refinery primarily sourced from Nigeria’s state-owned oil firm NNPC Ltd. Additionally, Dangote procured some US oil, with expectations of receiving 2 million barrels of US WTI Midland in early March, according to information from LSEG and Kpler ship tracking.
