Dangote Refinery is exporting its first refined petroleum products, consisting of 125 million litres of fuel oil and naphtha. Two cargoes of 65,000 fuel oil and 60,000 naphtha are expected to leave the facility in the Lekki area of Lagos next week and last week of this month. 
  
Its Executive Director, Devakumar Edwin, confirmed the development. There are indications that the fuel oil (diesel), which traders said is of low sulfur, might be too expensive for the Nigerian market that currently consumes high sulfur petroleum products.
  
There are also pointers that Dangote may have opted for export of naphtha due lack of a gasoline or petrol processing unit, as well as the elusive state of petrol pricing in the country.
 
Naphtha, a key product derived from the distillation of crude oil, plays a key role in various industries. As a primary source for the production of gasoline or petrol, it serves as a crucial component in meeting the global demand for fuel.   
  
Beyond its role in the energy sector, naphtha serves as a versatile raw material for the manufacturing of diverse chemical and petrochemical products.

This comes in the face of the subsidy crisis in Nigeria and continuous importation of petroleum motor spirits into the country.  Dangote Refinery, which mainly relies on imported crude oil in the face of low oil production in Nigeria and the modern nature of the facility to produce any grade of crude, is expected to begin with aviation fuel and diesel. 

  
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Agency (NMDPRA) put daily consumption of diesel at 14 million litres, while jet fuel hovers below five million litres per day. 
  
With a 650,000 barrels per day capacity, the refinery, where the Federal Government invested about $2.7 billion and signed a crude supply contract of 300,000 barrels per day crude contract, is projected to halt the age-long importation of crude oil into Nigeria, Africa’s biggest producer. 
  
Edwin told Bloomberg that the company is ready to export its first cargoes.  Dangote Refinery is already a global trader with tenders already made and buyers reportedly ready to lift the two cargoes this month.
  
The first cargo is 65,000 metric tonnes of low-sulphur straight run fuel oil, Reuters reports. The contract was awarded to Trafigura, and it is to be loaded by the end of February. The report noted that the second tender is for about 60,000 tonnes of naphtha, loading on February 23 to 29.