Wednesday, September 17, 2025 - Barely one year after it commenced production, petrol from Nigeria’s Dangote Refinery has arrived the United States of America (USA) for the first time in history.
Global oil trader, Vitol, and North American fuel
distributor, Sunoco (SUN.N), received the first U.S. shipment of petrol
(gasoline) from Nigeria’s new Dangote refinery on Monday, according to
vessel-tracking data and two sources with knowledge of the delivery.
The tanker Gemini Pearl delivered the cargo, marking a
significant milestone for the 650,000-barrel-per-day Dangote Refinery, whose
output energy market players had long awaited to see meet the stringent
standards for U.S. motor fuels, according to Reuters.
The report has it that Vitol purchased about 320,000 barrels
of petrol from Geneva-based Mocoh Oil and sold most of the cargo to North
American fuel distributor Sunoco.
The consignment, according to ship-tracking data, was
discharged at Sunoco’s Linden facility in the New York Harbor area.
Reuters reported that sources, who requested anonymity due
to the sensitivity of the matter, confirmed the trades.
“Vitol and Sunoco did not immediately respond to requests
for comment.
“Mocoh Oil, which earlier this year announced a partnership
with Dangote to export refined products, also declined to comment outside
business hours in Switzerland,” it said.
After several delays, Dangote Refinery, one of the world’s
largest,has significantly increased output since last year, reshaping global
energy flows.
Meanwhile, the facility is expected to cut Nigeria’s
reliance on fuel imports while exporting excess supply, largely to Europe.
A second petrol cargo from Dangote to the U.S. was sold by
Glencore to Shell and is being shipped on the MH Daisen due in New York Harbor
around September 19, according to sources and vessel-tracking data.
Glencore declined to comment,while Shell did not immediately
respond.
Vitol also bought a third cargo from Mocoh, with the
Seaexplorer expected to deliver to New York Harbor around September 22.
Sources noted that destinations could shift depending on
market conditions.
While these shipments highlight the refinery’s growing
influence on global fuel trade, further exports may be delayed.
President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, on Monday at a
press briefing disclosed that between June and first week of September 2025,
the facility had exported over 1.1 billion litres of Premium Motor Spirit
(PMS), underscoring its capacity to meet domestic demand and contribute
significantly to foreign exchange earnings.
Dangote also disclosed that as from next year, the refinery
is targeting production capacity of 700 million barrels per day.
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