Nigeria’s Dangote Refinery, the largest in Africa, is set to begin exporting diesel fuel meeting European specifications in June, alongside the domestic sale of petrol.
This news comes as the refinery ramps up production after officially launching in January 2024.
“We expect before the end of next month to have gasoline in the market, and we’ll also have Euro V diesel for export, that is below 10ppm sulfur content,” said Devakumar Edwin, Vice President for Oil and Gas at Dangote, at a recent industry event.
Dangote started naphtha exports in March, low-sulphur straight-run fuel oil (LSSR) exports in May and began selling diesel and jet fuel domestically in April.
Exports of naphtha, a key blending component in finished-grade gasoline, are continuing from the refinery, with 80,000t due to load on May 31, according to Kpler.
Edwin, who hinted at a slowing of spot sales, said: “We had a meeting to see, probably, how we can slow down our sales because we’ve already made quite a few forward bookings.”
“Export, for example, aviation/jet, the last vessel went to the Caribbean islands. The next vessel, we are booking for US market,” he added.
This development signifies a major step for Nigeria’s petroleum sector. The Dangote Refinery, with a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, has the potential to not only meet domestic fuel needs but also become a regional exporter.
Dangote Refinery began operations in January 2024 and has since been gradually increasing production. They started with crude distillation, followed by approval for a mild hydrocracker and desulfurization units in March.
The upcoming export of Euro V diesel, with its low sulfur content, positions Dangote Refinery to compete directly in the European market. This move has the potential to significantly boost the company’s revenue and contribute positively to Nigeria’s foreign exchange earnings.
Furthermore, the refinery is setting its sights on a public listing on the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) by the end of 2024. This listing would provide additional funding avenues for the company and allow Nigerians to invest in this game-changing project.
Aliko Dangote, chairman of Dangote Group maintained that as a new business, he would love to have Nigerians, Africans and other investors as shareholders in the refinery, stressing that he wants to allow them to join in making what he called a historic move.
“The listing, most likely, I won’t be surprised if we list (on the Nigerian Stock Exchange) by the end of this year. We will do that. You know it is new and I think we would like to allow Nigerians, Africans, and other investors to join in making this historic move,” he submitted.
He noted that the refinery would attain 500,000 barrels daily capacity by the end of July and its full capacity of 650,000 barrels towards the end of the year.
According to him, the US oil is not being imported to take over that of Nigeria, saying 24 million barrels coming from the US is just two cargoes per month, which represents 10 per cent of the refinery’s demand at full capacity.
“As you know, we are ramping up and I think by July or thereabouts, we will be talking of about over 500,000 barrels per day refining capacity, which is huge. And then, by sometime towards the end of the year, we believe that we will hit our capacity of 650,000 barrels per day. So, it is a very huge capacity.
“The US one (crude oil) is not something that will come and take over Nigeria something. It is not very small. When we say 24 million barrels, it sounds huge, but it is not huge. It is roughly about two cargoes in a month, which is about 10 per cent of our demand at full capacity,” Dangote stated.
