Nigeria’s Dangote Refinery is set to ship 90,000 metric tons of gasoline to Asia, marking the first gasoline export beyond West Africa by Africa’s largest refining complex.
This milestone comes months after the refinery began full operations, and underscores the company’s ambition to become a global force in petroleum exports.
According to Reuters, the cargo is expected to be loaded by Mercuria, a global energy and commodities trading firm, on June 22. While Dangote Refinery has previously exported refined products such as jet fuel and naphtha within the West African region, this will be the first time its gasoline reaches Asian markets—a move that signals a bold pivot in the continent’s downstream trade dynamics.
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A New Era for African Energy Exports
Commissioned in 2023 and built at a cost of $19 billion, the 650,000-barrel-per-day Dangote Refinery located in the Lekki Free Trade Zone has quickly become a game changer for Nigeria’s oil industry and Africa’s energy security. Designed to process a wide range of crude types, from Nigeria’s Bonny Light to heavier crudes, the refinery is not only reducing the country’s reliance on imported fuel but is now also positioning Nigeria as a net exporter of refined petroleum products.
Since the start of operations, Dangote Refinery has exported:
- Over 1.7 million barrels of jet fuel to the United States, across six different shipments.
- Two separate consignments of jet fuel to Saudi Aramco, marking a rare case of Nigeria exporting finished fuels to the Gulf.
- A shipment of low-sulfur straight-run fuel oil (LSSR) to Singapore in April, reflecting growing demand from Asia’s marine fuel market.
LSSR is commonly used as a blendstock to produce low-sulfur fuel oil for bunkering or further refining. The cargo to Singapore marks one of the earliest signs that Dangote is already reshaping regional trade flows traditionally dominated by the Middle East and Asia.
The End of Europe’s Fuel Dominance?
The refinery’s growing exports are also rattling the European markets. For decades, Africa—despite being a major crude producer—has been heavily dependent on refined fuel imports, particularly gasoline from Europe. In 2022, that trade was valued at over $17 billion, with Europe exporting as much as 1 million barrels per day of gasoline and diesel to West Africa, especially Nigeria.
But with Dangote ramping up output and capable of meeting a substantial portion of regional demand, analysts now warn that Europe’s long-held market share is under threat. In January, OPEC acknowledged that Nigeria’s new refining capacity was beginning to disrupt supply chains in the Atlantic Basin, particularly for gasoline and jet fuel.
Experts suggest that if the refinery operates near full capacity, it could eliminate the need for gasoline imports into West Africa altogether, redirecting surplus volumes instead to more profitable markets in Asia and the Americas.
The exports align with Nigeria’s broader goal of capturing more value from its natural resources by refining domestically rather than exporting raw crude. For decades, Nigeria exported crude oil and imported nearly all of its refined petroleum products, draining foreign exchange and creating fuel shortages at home. The Dangote Refinery is seen as a central piece of President Bola Tinubu administration’s plan to restructure Nigeria’s oil and gas sector and reduce its exposure to global fuel market volatility.
Furthermore, fuel exports are expected to boost Nigeria’s non-oil revenue, improve trade balances, and support the naira by reducing the demand for foreign currency to import refined products.
What Lies Ahead?
While gasoline to Asia represents a significant step, Dangote Refinery is not stopping there. Sources say the facility is preparing to ramp up production of diesel and aviation fuel at even larger volumes and is actively in talks with buyers in Latin America and Southeast Asia.
By the end of 2025, industry insiders believe the refinery could reach output levels close to 450,000 barrels per day, enabling Nigeria to potentially join the ranks of global refined product exporters alongside giants like India, South Korea, and the United States.
With its latest export announcement, Dangote Refinery has officially entered a new phase—one in which Nigeria is no longer just a source of crude oil, but a competitive player in the refined petroleum market, rewriting decades of African energy trade.