The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has said that the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and its efforts to ramp up petrol production are impacting the petrol market in Europe.
The 650,000-capacity Dangote refinery, which began operations in January last year, started producing petrol in September 2024, years after the country had relied solely on importation for its fuel needs.
Since it started production, the refinery has exported petrol, diesel, and aviation fuel to other countries within and outside Africa.
According to the report by OPEC on Wednesday, the emergence of Dangote refinery has reduced the importation of petroleum products from Europe to Nigeria.
“The ongoing operational ramp-up efforts at Nigeria’s new Dangote refinery and its gasoline (petrol) exports to the international market will likely weigh further on the European gasoline market.
“Continued gasoline production in Nigeria, a country that has relied heavily on imports to meet its domestic fuel needs in the past, will most likely continue to free up gasoline volumes in international markets which will call for new destinations and flow adjustments for the extra volumes going forward.”
In the last quarter of 2024, OPEC said “imports also declined, particularly oil product imports, improving the outlook for the external sector.”
The report stated that the gasoline crack spread in Rotterdam against Brent increased slightly on healthy exports although gasoline inventories at the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp storage hub remained high.
It added that the gasoline inventory builds are expected to extend into the coming month amid a lengthening gasoline balance in the Atlantic Basin due to winter-season demand-side pressures.
The report by Punche on Thursday quoted OPEC as saying that the ongoing recovery in gasoline refinery output levels will likely exacerbate the already bearish market sentiment.
GIK/APA