Nigeria's Dangote refinery to export first fuel cargoes

Nigeria's Dangote oil refinery has issued tenders to sell two fuel cargoes for export, the first from the newly commissioned refinery, trading sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

The refinery, Africa's largest with a nameplate capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, was built on a peninsula on the outskirts of the commercial capital Lagos by the continent's richest man Aliko Dangote.

Nigeria has relied on imports for most of the fuel it consumes but the $20 billion refinery is set to turn it into a net exporter of fuel to other West African countries, in a huge potential shift of power and profit dynamics in the industry

Dangote declined a Reuters request for comment.

The first cargo is 65,000 metric tons of low-sulphur straight run fuel oil, which Dangote has awarded to Trafigura and is due to load at the end of February, three of the sources said. Trafigura declined to comment.

The second tender is for about 60,000 tons of naphtha, three other sources said. Two of them added that tender closes on Feb. 15.

Sources told Reuters last week that the refinery was preparing to deliver its first fuel cargoes to the domestic market within weeks.

Cover photo: REUTERS/TEMILADE ADELAJA