First Gasoline Shipment from Dangote Refinery Arrives in U.S.
The United States has received its first shipment of gasoline from Nigeria’s Dangote refinery, signaling a significant achievement for the $20 billion megaproject.
Reuters, citing shipping data and industry sources, reported that approximately 320,000 barrels of gasoline arrived at the Port of New York on Sunday.
The fuel was delivered aboard the Panama-flagged vessel Gemini Pearl.
The shipment was coordinated by commodity trader Vitol and U.S. fuel distributor Sunoco, with Sunoco acquiring the majority of the cargo and Vitol keeping a smaller share.
A second shipment from the refinery is expected to reach New York by September 19.
This cargo, reportedly sold by Glencore to Shell, further illustrates the refinery’s capability to produce fuel that meets stringent U.S. quality standards.
Owned by billionaire Aliko Dangote, the refinery has a processing capacity of 650,000 barrels per day.
It was built to satisfy Nigeria’s domestic fuel demand while exporting surplus volumes. Since commencing exports in June, initial deliveries were directed to markets in Asia.
Although gasoline production was temporarily paused earlier this month due to an issue with the refinery’s catalytic cracking unit, Nigerian media report that over 1 billion liters of gasoline have already been exported between June and early September.
Experts say these U.S.-bound deliveries represent a pivotal step for Nigeria—transforming it from Africa’s largest crude oil producer into a rising force in the global market for refined petroleum products.
