Europe receives straight run fuel oil from Dangote

A cargo of low-sulphur straight run fuel oil (LSSR) produced at Nigeria's 650,000 b/d Dangote refinery has been delivered to Europe for the first time.

The 90,000t cargo was loaded at Dangote's terminal in Lekki on 25 April and discharged in Rotterdam on 13 May, according to data from trade analytics firm Kpler.

The cargo will likely be used as a blendstock to produce very-low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO), market participants said.

Roughly 72pc of the fuel oil exported from Dangote has been delivered to the US since the refinery offered its first LSSR export tender in mid-February. A total of just under 620,000t has been delivered so far.

Another LSSR shipment of 83,400t departed the refinery on 7 May, according to trade analytics firm Vortexa. It is scheduled to arrive in France on 22 May, but market participants say this is unlikely to be the cargo's final destination.

LSSR price assessments on a fob Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) basis have stayed at a $5/bl premium to front-month Ice Brent crude futures this week, narrowing from an 18-month high of $7.50/bl in mid-April. Maintenance work that began in the first quarter affected fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) units at some refineries. FCCs take LSSR and low-sulphur vacuum gasoil to increase gasoline yields.

By Isabella Reimi and Bob Wigin