Top global oil trader Vitol and North American fuel distributor Sunoco have taken delivery of the first U.S. import of gasoline produced at Nigeria’s new Dangote refinery, vessel-tracking data and industry sources confirmed on Monday.
The shipment, carried on the tanker Gemini Pearl, is seen as a major milestone for the 650,000 barrel-per-day refinery. Market players had been watching to see when the plant’s production would begin meeting strict U.S. fuel standards.
According to sources, Vitol purchased the 320,000-barrel cargo from Geneva-based Mocoh Oil and resold most of it to Sunoco. The vessel discharged at Sunoco’s Linden facility in the New York Harbor. Neither Vitol nor Sunoco responded to requests for comment.
Mocoh Oil, which partnered earlier this year with Dangote to export refined products, also declined to comment outside of business hours.
The refinery, among the world’s largest, has rapidly reshaped global energy flows since coming online after repeated delays. It is expected to curb Nigeria’s dependence on imported fuels while supplying surplus volumes to international markets, especially in Europe.
A second Dangote cargo, sold by Glencore to Shell, is due to arrive in New York on the vessel MH Daisen around 19 September, while a third shipment purchased by Vitol on the Seaexplorer is expected around 22 September.
However, industry monitor IIR Energy has warned that the refinery’s gasoline unit may be shut down for two to three months for repairs, raising uncertainty about further U.S.-bound supplies in the near term.
