…First Shipment Heads to Togo; Talks Underway with Ghana, South Africa, and More
The Dangote Petroleum Refinery has initiated the export of refined petroleum products to neighboring West African countries, signaling a potential shift in regional fuel markets.
According to a report by Bloomberg on Tuesday, citing data from Vortexa, Kpler, Precise Intelligence, and ship-tracking platforms, a tanker carrying over 300,000 barrels of gasoline departed the refinery, destined for waters off Togo’s coast. The vessel, CL Jane Austen, marks the beginning of what could become a steady export operation.
Ghana has expressed keen interest in sourcing petroleum products from the refinery. Last month, the chairman of Ghana’s National Petroleum Authority (NPA), Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, said importing from Dangote could help the country save on costly European imports, which amount to about $400 million monthly.
Speaking at the OTL Africa Downstream Oil Conference in Lagos, Abdul-Hamid stated, “If the refinery reaches 650,000 barrels per day capacity, Nigeria alone cannot consume all that volume. Instead of importing from Europe, we can source from Nigeria, reducing freight costs and potentially lowering prices across goods and services.”
Dangote Refinery was in advanced talks to export fuel to South Africa, Angola, Namibia, and four additional countries: Niger, Chad, Burkina Faso, and the Central African Republic.
A source familiar with the operations revealed, “Discussions are at advanced stages with Ghana, Angola, Namibia, and South Africa, while initial talks are ongoing with Niger, Chad, Burkina Faso, and the Central African Republic.”
The report noted that the refinery’s gasoline shipment is currently floating off Lome, Togo’s coast, a hub for ship-to-ship fuel transfers. While the ultimate destination of the cargo remains unclear, this development highlights Dangote’s readiness to ramp up production and expand its export reach.
Last month, the refinery also shipped its first seaborne gasoline cargo to Lagos, a commercial hub.
Though small compared to the global gasoline market, these initial exports underscore the refinery’s potential to disrupt regional fuel markets. However, whether significant volumes of Dangote’s gasoline will be exported long-term remains uncertain.
This move follows the Federal Government’s decision to end the state-owned oil company’s monopoly on sourcing fuel from the refinery for domestic use. Meanwhile, fuel imports from Europe and the U.S. continue under regulatory provisions.
Efforts to obtain comments from Dangote Refinery’s spokesperson were unsuccessful at the time of reporting.
