Dangote Petroleum Refinery has exported six vessels carrying approximately 1.7 million barrels of jet fuel to the United States in March, marking a significant milestone in Nigeria’s oil sector.
The refinery, in a statement on Tuesday, cited data from Kpler, a ship-tracking service, revealing that another vessel, Hafnia Andromeda, is expected to arrive at the Everglades terminal in the US on March 29 with about 348,000 barrels of aviation fuel.
The shipment follows an earlier export of about 130 million litres of jet fuel to Saudi Arabia, underscoring Dangote Refinery’s growing footprint in the global energy market.
According to the statement, Dangote Refinery has already proven its competitiveness against European refiners in gasoline exports.
The latest jet fuel shipment to the US could pose a challenge to domestic producers in the world’s largest fuel-consuming nation.
Steven Barsamian, Chief Operating Officer of TankTiger, stated that the surge in supply from Nigeria is expected to lower jet fuel prices in the US ahead of the peak summer travel season.
“Trade analysts and storage brokers project that US jet fuel imports from Dangote Refinery will drive down aviation fuel prices during this period,” Barsamian said.
He further noted that US jet fuel imports in March averaged around 226,000 barrels per day—the highest since February 2023—highlighting the increasing demand for Dangote’s refined products.
Commenting on the development, Muda Yusuf, economist and CEO of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprises (CPPE), described the refinery’s growing international reach as a source of national pride.
“Nothing could be more prideful for us as a country than the fact that we now have a refinery producing products that can be exported to the United States,” Yusuf said.
“This speaks to the quality, standards, and trust that international markets place in Dangote Refinery.
These are regions with stringent requirements, and if they deem it worthy to import from Nigeria, it is a significant achievement.”
The former Director-General of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) emphasized that the refinery enhances Nigeria’s global reputation and should be supported by both the government and citizens.
“All of us—citizens and the government—should do everything to support the refinery, as it is breaking barriers and boosting our country’s standing,” he added.
Public policy expert, Abimbola Oyarinu, lamented that Nigeria could have avoided its current economic struggles had it invested in functional refineries earlier.
“This is something that should have been addressed since 2014. We wouldn’t be facing such high inflation and unemployment if we had a working refinery,” Oyarinu said.
He criticized past governments and stakeholders for neglecting the sector until Dangote’s private investment intervened.
“The refinery is not only reducing foreign exchange outflows but also bringing in revenue. Yet, some elites and political figures are still bent on sabotaging the refinery and Dangote himself,” he warned.
Oyarinu also cautioned that the lack of business-friendly policies and bureaucratic frustrations could discourage future investors.
“This is an achievement Nigeria should be proud of,” he added.
Despite its export successes, Dangote Refinery recently announced a temporary halt in the sale of petroleum products in naira.
The refinery cited slow progress in renegotiating the naira-for-crude deal as a key reason for suspending local supplies.
Earlier in March, the 650,000 barrels per day facility also took delivery of one million barrels of crude oil from Algeria between March 15 and March 20, further expanding its supply sources.
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