The Dangote Petroleum Refinery said it has strengthened Nigeria’s presence in the regional energy market with the successful sales of 12 cargoes, by traders, totalling 456,000 tonnes of refined petroleum products.
The shipments by traders, destined for countries such as Cote d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Tanzania, Ghana, and Togo, represent the refinery’s export of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) since achieving 650,000 barrels a day capacity in February, according to a statement by the Refinery.
The products were sold on a FOB (Free on Board) basis to the end international traders for deliveries to the above-identified countries of export.
This accomplishment, the Refinery noted, underscores its capability not only to meet but to exceed Nigeria’s domestic fuel demands.
“It also demonstrates the refinery’s growing role in supplying high-quality Euro 5 gasoline and diesel to West Africa — a region long underserved and historically regarded as a dumping ground for lower-quality fuels, and other regions which have become destinations of exports.
“By supplying neighbouring and other economies, the Dangote Refinery is expected to contribute to enhancing energy security in West, East, and Central Africa, reducing logistics and supply chain delays associated with long-distance fuel imports, lowering cost pressures on regional fuel markets through proximity sourcing, and as well as building stronger trade relations between Nigeria and key African economies”, the statement added.
The sale comes amid widening global worries about fuel supplies as the tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, which serves as the critical chokepoint for roughly 20 per cent of global oil and LNG trade, has slowed sharply amid escalating military activity in the Gulf.
The conflict in the region has sent oil prices above $113 per barrel in recent weeks and has made economies worry about inflationary worries.
President Bola Tinubu expressed concerns over the negative impact the crisis in the Middle East would have on the Nigerian economy, noting that efforts are being made to ensure the citizens, especially the vulnerable, are catered to by the government.
Western economies could release additional volumes of crude from storage should the need arise after it released 400 million barrels of crude from OECD reserves to cushion the blow to oil markets.