1 million tons of petrol shipped overseas as Dangote refinery takes Nigerian fuel global

The Dangote Refinery, which this year began exporting Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, to markets beyond Africa, recently highlighted a major milestone with regards to the initiative. According to the chairman of the business, and Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, the refinery exported up to 1 million tons of petrol.

• The Dangote Refinery has commenced the export of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) beyond Africa, marking a transformative step in regional energy trade.
• In June and July 2025, the refinery successfully exported one million tonnes of PMS, signaling an increase in its operational scope.
• The facility achieved its first gasoline export to Asia in June 2025, followed by earlier low-sulfur fuel oil shipments to Singapore and multiple consignments of jet fuel to global markets.

Alhaji Aliko Dangote, President of the Dangote Group, made the revelation on Tuesday at the Global Commodity Insights Conference on West African Refined Fuel Markets, which was organized by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) in collaboration with S&P Global Insights.

As reported by The Punch, the Nigerian billionaire noted that the refinery exported up to a million tons of fuel during June and July 2025.

“Today, Nigeria has actually become a net exporter of refined products. Before I came on the podium, I asked my people how many tonnes of PMS we have actually exported.

From June beginning to date, we have exported about 1 million tonnes of PMS, within the last 50 days,” he said.

This is a new milestone for the $19 billion, 650,000-barrel-per-day complex, which had hitherto concentrated its exports in West Africa since starting gasoline shipments in 2024.

Dangote’s young history with fuel exports

Concerning Dangote’s business of exporting fuel, a noteworthy breakthrough occurred in June 2025, when 90,000 metric tons of gasoline were sent to Asia, marking the refinery’s first petrol export outside of West Africa.

Mercuria, the trading powerhouse, was set to load the shipment on June 22.

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This move comes after an earlier April shipment of low-sulfur straight-run fuel oil (LSSR) to Singapore, indicating a deliberate push into Asian markets.

The Dangote Refinery’s global development has not stopped with fuel.

It has also successfully exported two consignments of jet fuel to Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil firm, and supplied nearly 1.7 million barrels of jet fuel to US ports via six boats.

These moves underscore the refinery’s growing stature and competitiveness in the global energy sector.

This growth has begun to shake established markets. In January 2025, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) stated that Dangote’s oil push was beginning to disrupt Europe’s refined fuel market.

For decades, Europe maintained a profitable $17 billion annual gasoline export business to Africa.

Experts now fear that Dangote’s efforts may bring a stop to this long-standing trading partnership.

As of April 2025, the refinery has more capacity than the top 10 biggest plants in Europe.

Crude supply to Dangote

On the supply side, the Dangote Refinery is making strategic moves towards self-sufficiency.

According to Devakumar Edwin, Vice President of Dangote Industries, the refinery plans to rely solely on Nigerian crude by the end of 2025.

In June, local producers supplied 53% of the crude processed, with the remaining 47% coming mostly from the United States. The factory now refines about 550,000 barrels of oil per day.

Historically, the refinery has received crude from Brazil, Angola, Ghana, and Equatorial Guinea.

However, greater cooperation among Nigerian oil producers, the federal government, and the refinery is expected to increase the share of locally sourced crude in the coming months.

As the Dangote Refinery expands its reach and consolidates its supply chain, it is redefining Nigeria’s role in global energy markets while simultaneously speeding Africa’s economic self-determination.

Its ascent might herald the start of a new era in global petroleum commerce, in which Africa is no longer merely a consumer but also a key source of refined energy.