by Prejula Prem and Jack Wittels
LAGOS – A tanker has hauled gasoline 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 gasoline market, it signals the ramp-up of Dangote’s production and the potential to export significant volumes of gasoline beyond Nigeria, which could upend regional markets. The refinery last month shipped its first seaborne gasoline cargo to the nearby commercial hub of Lagos.
Whether large amounts of Dangote’s gasoline output end up being exported remains to be seen. Last month, Nigeria ended its state-owned oil company’s monopoly on buying the 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.
A Dangote spokesperson didn’t respond to a request for comment.
