Africa’s Largest Refinery Ships First Cargo

Africa’s largest refinery ships first cargo

Nigeria’s Dangote refinery, larger than any other in Africa or Europe, has shipped its first gasoline by sea as a key fuel production unit continues to ramp up output.

In recent days, the Sabak departed Dangote, carrying about 500,000 barrels of gasoline, bound for the nearby commercial hub of Lagos, according to a port report and ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg.

Meanwhile, the refinery’s spent liquid catalytic cracking unit, a key unit for producing fuel, continues to ramp up output, according to a person familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because the information is private.

A Dangote spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Once fully operational, the 650,000 barrels a day plant will transform the regional gasoline market, potentially reducing the need to import fuel from Europe to West Africa. It has already disrupted crude flows by reducing excess supplies in Nigeria.

The first sea shipment came about a month after the new refinery used trucks to transport gasoline.