Nigeria’s Dangote Oil Refinery has launched a fresh tender to sell 128,000 metric tons of residual fuel oil for April loading, signaling increased commercial activity from the recently commissioned 650,000 barrels-per-day facility.
According to details shared by a market source on Tuesday, the tender includes 88,000 tons of low-sulphur straight-run fuel oil and 40,000 tons of slurry oil.
Loading is scheduled between April 10 and 12. The tender will close on Wednesday at 1200 GMT.
The move reflects Dangote Refinery’s growing participation in the global refined products market, particularly in the export of intermediate fuels.
Straight-run fuel oil is often used as feedstock for secondary refining units to produce higher-value products such as gasoline and diesel, while slurry oil is used primarily in the manufacture of heavy fuel oil and in certain industrial applications.
Industry data indicates that Dangote’s fuel oil exports averaged 75,000 barrels per day between March and August 2024.
However, volumes declined significantly from September following the start-up of the refinery’s 204,000 barrels-per-day Residue Fluidized Catalytic Cracking (RFCC) unit, which converts residual oils into gasoline and other light distillates.
In a related development, industry intelligence platform IIR reported that the refinery’s gasoline unit is expected to undergo a 30-day maintenance shutdown starting tentatively on June 1.
The planned outage may temporarily reduce gasoline output and increase feedstock availability for other products.
The tender comes as Dangote Refinery gradually ramps up operations across its integrated facility, designed to reduce Nigeria’s dependence on imported refined petroleum products and position the country as a net exporter of fuels.
While the refinery has yet to publicly comment on the tender, its recent product offerings, including diesel and jet fuel, have already entered regional and international markets.
The April fuel oil sale would mark a continuation of the company’s export strategy, aimed at capturing demand in Asia, Europe, and West Africa.
The development also underscores the evolving role of the Dangote Refinery in shaping Nigeria’s downstream oil sector with market analysts closely monitoring each product cycle and export signal as the facility scales up output.
