The Dangote Petroleum Refinery has started exporting fuel to West African countries.
This is seen as a sign that the refinery could soon have a big impact on fuel markets in the region.
According to a report by “Bloomberg” on Tuesday, a tanker named “CL Jane Austen” carried over 300,000 barrels of gasoline from the Dangote Refinery. The shipment is now floating off the coast of Togo, which is often used for ship-to-ship fuel transfers. It is not yet clear where the fuel will finally go.
Ghana is one of the countries interested in buying fuel from the refinery. Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, the Chairman of Ghana’s National Petroleum Authority, said importing from Nigeria could help reduce high costs caused by buying from Europe. He explained that Ghana spends about $400 million monthly importing fuel from Europe. “Instead of us importing as we do right now from Rotterdam, it will be much easier for us to import from Nigeria and I believe that will bring down our prices,” he said.
The refinery, which has a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, is in talks with several African countries, including Angola, South Africa, and Namibia, to start fuel exports. Discussions are also ongoing with Niger, Chad, Burkina Faso, and the Central African Republic.
The refinery shipped its first cargo to Lagos last month, marking the start of its operations. Although the refinery’s fuel exports are still small compared to the global market, experts believe the Dangote Refinery has the potential to export large volumes, which could change fuel trading across Africa.
A spokesperson for Dangote has not commented on these developments. Meanwhile, the Nigerian government has ended its oil company’s monopoly on local fuel purchases but continues to allow fuel imports from Europe and the US.