The Dangote Refinery has achieved another landmark with the export of its first gasoline cargo to the United States.
According to trade data obtained by Argus, a vessel named Gemini Pearl loaded about 300,000 barrels of gasoline at Dangote’s Port on August 26. The shipment, believed to be chartered by Vitol though not yet confirmed, is expected to discharge in either New York or New Jersey.
The latest export marks Nigeria’s entry into the U.S. gasoline market, a development analysts say underscores the growing global footprint of the $20 billion refinery. Earlier in June and July, the facility had shipped three LR2 cargoes—two to the Middle East Gulf and one to Singapore.
Market watchers attributed the move to rising U.S. Atlantic Coast gasoline prices and shrinking inventories, making arbitrage exports from Nigeria profitable.
Despite the milestone, the refinery continues to export low-sulphur straight-run fuel oil, with sources indicating its Residue Fluid Catalytic Cracking (RFCC) unit is operating at around 45–50 per cent capacity. The unit, which was shut down briefly in August, has since restarted but is said to be grappling with feedstock-related challenges.
Meanwhile, Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, has reiterated that he built his business empire from scratch and not from inherited wealth. In a resurfaced Bloomberg interview, the industrialist disclosed that although he hails from the illustrious Dantata family, he deliberately chose not to rely on his father’s fortune.
“One thing that I’m very, very proud of is that I did not inherit any money from my father. I built everything from scratch to where I am. Whatever I inherited from him, which means in assets, I gave that on to charity,” he said.
Dangote recalled how he started modestly in Lagos, trading cement, before venturing into larger industrial pursuits. “It was just a very low-key business,” he noted, stressing that cement remains central to infrastructure growth in Africa.
