The first US import of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly known as petrol, from the Dangote Refinery in Lagos landed on Monday, Reuters reported.
According to media platform, top global oil trader, Vitol, and North American fuel distributor, Sunoco, were the recipients of the cargo.
The delivery, on the tanker Gemini Pearl, marks a major milestone for the 650,000 barrel-per-day refinery, as energy market participants had been waiting to see when its production would start meeting strict US motor fuels standards.
Vitol purchased the Gemini Pearl’s cargo of around 320,000 barrels of gasoline from Geneva, Switzerland-based Mocoh Oil, and sold most of it to Sunoco.
However, the publication couldn’t ascertain what volume Vitol sold to Sunoco and how much it will keep.
The vessel discharged at Sunoco’s Linden facility in the New York Harbor area, according to vessel-tracking data.
Earlier this year, Mocoh Oil confirmed a partnership with Dangote to export products from the refinery.
A second cargo of gasoline from Dangote to the US was sold by Glencore to Shell on the vessel MH Daisen, which is set to arrive in the New York Harbor area around September 19.
Vitol also purchased from Mocoh Oil a third cargo of petrol made by the Dangote refinery, with the vessel Seaexplorer set to deliver that in the New York Harbor area around September 22.
This development means the Dangote refinery is reshaping global energy flows by ramping up output sharply since last year. It is expected to significantly reduce Nigeria’s fuel imports, while exporting its surplus mainly to Europe.
Meanwhile, the refinery’s petrol-producing unit could be shut for two to three months for repairs, industry monitor IIR Energy said earlier this month.
Yesterday, it rolled out Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) trucks to distribute nationwide to marketers, petrol dealers, manufacturers, telecommunication firms, aviation, and other large users. This comes after after a month the initiative was to begin.