Nigeria to halt jet imports to support Dangote refinery

Spanish Market: Oil products
09/10/24

Nigerian airlines have agreed to source jet fuel solely from the country's 650,000 b/d Dangote refinery rather than relying on imports from abroad, according to aviation minister Festus Keyamo.

"It's a decision by the airline operators of Nigeria, with my push and my blessing, that they should only buy from Dangote refinery," Keyamo told Nigeria's Channels Television, without offering a timeframe.

The Dangote refinery is fast increasing its share of Nigeria's oil product market. It started gasoline production last month and all its sales since have been to state-owned NNPC. NNPC has been using trucks to load the gasoline but Dangote's plan is to eventually supply most of its gasoline to the domestic market by sea.

Dangote is already claiming a greater share of the jet fuel arriving at Nigerian ports. A quarter of the 280,000t of seaborne deliveries of jet fuel to Nigeria so far this year have come from Dangote, according to Vortexa. The refinery began selling jet to the local market back in April, enabling local fuel marketers to benefit from lower transport costs.

Indian refiner Reliance is among the biggest losers. It supplied 140,000t of jet fuel to Nigeria last year, around half of the country's total seaborne imports, and a further 75,000t in the first four months this year. But it has not supplied any more since the end of April.

Dangote was last heard offering jet fuel at a premium of $42/t against spot northwest European prices, according to market participants.

By George Maher-Bonnett

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