Dangote Refinery Exports First Petrol Cargo to US as Vitol, Sunoco Snap Up Supplies
- Nigeria's and Africa’s largest refinery, Dangote Refinery, has sold its first petrol cargo to Vitol and Sunoco, two American companies
- The two oil firms received the fuel cargo from Dangote Refinery earlier in the week, sources said
- Vitol purchased the Gemini Pearl’s cargo of about 320,000 barrels of petrol from Geneva and sold it to Sunoco
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Pascal Oparada, a reporter for Legit.ng, has over ten years of experience covering technology, energy, stocks, investment, and the economy.
Two global oil traders, Vitol and Sunoco, took delivery of the first US import of petrol from Africa’s largest refinery, Dangote Refinery, earlier this week.
This is according to vessel-tracking data and two sources familiar with the development.
Source: UGC
First petrol cargo to the US
The delivery aboard Gemini Pearl represents a major milestone for the refinery, as energy market players had been waiting to see when production would start feeding the strict US petrol standard.
According to reports, Vitol purchased the Gemini Pearl’s cargo of about 320,000 barrels of petrol from Geneva, Switzerland-based Mocoh, and sold most of it to Sunoco.
The reports said that it was not immediately clear what volume Vitol sold to Sunoco and how much it will retain.
The vessel reportedly discharged at Sunoco’s Linden facility in the New York Harbour.
BusinessDay cites anonymous sources, as Vitol did not immediately respond to requests for comments.
Dangote’s global energy impact
Reuters was the first to report on the parties involved in these transactions. Mocoh Oil, which earlier this year confirmed a partnership with Dangote for exporting refinery products, did not immediately comment outside of Swiss business hours.
After numerous startup delays, the Dangote refinery, one of the world's largest, has significantly altered global energy flows by sharply increasing output since last year.
It is expected to substantially reduce Nigeria's fuel imports while primarily exporting its surplus to Europe.
According to sources and ship-tracking data, Glencore sold a second cargo of gasoline from Dangote to Shell on the vessel MH Daisen, which is expected to reach the New York Harbour area around September 19. Glencore declined to comment, and Shell did not immediately respond.
Vitol also bought a third cargo of Dangote refinery gasoline from Mocoh. This cargo, on the vessel Seaexplorer, is scheduled to arrive in the New York Harbour area around September 22, sources indicated.
Dangote did not respond to Reuters' earlier inquiries regarding the outage.
US imports from Nigeria slump
Dangote’s petrol sales come as US imports from Nigeria slumped by 41%, a prior report by Legit.ng said.
According to new figures from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Bureau of Economic Analysis, Nigerian exports to America dropped from $639 million in June 2025 to $379 million in July.
This sharp reversal coincided with a slowdown in U.S. exports to Nigeria, which fell from $919 million to $584 million in the same period.
Source: Getty Images
Despite this contraction, Washington still maintained a $206 million trade surplus with Nigeria in July, down from $280 million the previous month.
Between January and July 2025, the U.S. exported goods worth $3.92 billion to Nigeria while importing $3.14 billion, leaving it with a cumulative surplus of $781 million.
Dangote, depot owners in a row
Meanwhile, Dangote Refinery has continued to battle depot owners, alleging that most of them were involved in subsidy fraud.
The refinery’s management disclosed in an advertorial that the depot operators also sold dirty fuel to Nigerians, which they imported from overseas.
Dangote Refinery adds 15 new partners
Legit.ng earlier reported that Dangote Refinery has said that many oil marketing companies have joined its growing list of fuel distribution networks.
The refinery disclosed in a statement on Tuesday that the companies include TotalEnergies, Garima Petroleum, Sunbeth Energies, Sobax Nigeria Limited, and Virgin Forest Energy.
Others are Sixxco Oil Ltd., NU Synergy, and Soroman Limited.
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Source: Legit.ng
