A tanker has transported petrol from Nigeria’s new Dangote plant to waters off Togo, a sign to traders that the mega-refinery’s operations could soon potentially shake up regional fuel markets.
The CL Jane Austen recently loaded more than 300,000 barrels from Dangote and sailed west, according to data from Vortexa, Kpler, Precise Intelligence, a port report, and ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg.
It’s now floating off the coast of Lome, a popular area for ship-to-ship transfers.
While the shipment is tiny in the context of the global fuel market, it signals the ramp-up of Dangote’s production and the potential to export significant volumes of petrol beyond Nigeria, which could upend regional markets.
The refinery last month shipped its first seaborne petrol cargo to the nearby commercial hub of Lagos.
Whether large amounts of Dangote’s petrol output end up being exported remains to be seen.
Last month, Nigeria ended its state-owned oil company’s monopoly on buying fuel from the plant for domestic use. Meanwhile, the country continues to import fuel from Europe and the US.
It’s also not certain where the CL Jane Austen’s cargo will ultimately end up. Although it’s off Togo, the area is often used for STS transfers, meaning the fuel could subsequently be taken elsewhere.
According to recent reports, about eight African countries including Ghana, Benin Republic, Togo and South Africa are likely to purchase petroleum products from the 650,000 bdp refinery.
Earlier last month, Ghana’s chief oil regulator, Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, said the country is considering the importation of petrol from Dangote as part of its efforts to curb importation as well as reduce pressure on its foreign exchange market.
He explained that importing from Nigeria would help lower the prices of goods and services by cutting freight costs.
“If the refinery reaches 650,000 bpd capacity, all that volume cannot be consumed by Nigeria alone, so 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,” Hamid said.