Nigeria’s Dangote Petroleum Refinery has topped the United States for a second straight month as Europe’s largest supplier of jet fuel. Dangote Refinery jet fuel exports to Europe stood at more than 400,000 tonnes in July, according to data compiled by commodities intelligence firm Kpler.
That volume made up roughly 20 per cent of Europe’s total jet fuel imports for the month.
The company disclosed the figures in a statement issued in Lagos. It said the performance builds on a record June, when Dangote Refinery jet fuel exports to Europe hit 466,000 tonnes.
That June total first pushed Nigeria ahead of the United States as the region’s leading external supplier of aviation fuel.
Europe imported about 2.06 million tonnes of jet fuel in July. Dangote accounted for the single largest share of those imports, ahead of established suppliers from the United States and the Middle East, the company said.
David Bird, managing director and chief executive of Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals, said the refinery has continued to expand exports of diesel, petrol and other refined products to Europe, Africa and other markets. He said this has strengthened Nigeria’s position as a net exporter of high-value petroleum products.
Rising production has underpinned the export run. Jet fuel loadings at the refinery’s Lekki export terminal reached a record 550,000 tonnes in June.
Crude deliveries to the plant climbed to an all-time high of 660,000 barrels per day that same month. That gave the 700,000 barrels per day facility the throughput to sustain its growing exports.
European buyers have long relied on refiners in the United States, the Middle East and Asia for aviation fuel. Dangote’s location on Nigeria’s Atlantic coast, combined with its scale and export capacity, has made it an increasingly important source of supply for the continent.
Market dynamics have also played a part. Europe received only limited jet fuel volumes from Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Oman in July.
Disruption around the Strait of Hormuz and shifting geopolitical pressures have pushed buyers to diversify their sources. Dangote Refinery jet fuel exports have filled part of that gap.
Kpler, which tracks seaborne cargoes and compiled the import data cited by the refinery, has separately flagged pressure on the plant’s crude throughput. The firm’s market notes show output dipped in parts of July because of scheduled maintenance, even as Dangote Refinery jet fuel exports for the month stayed strong. The refinery describes the maintenance as routine.
Dangote Refinery jet fuel exports have now overtaken US shipments for two consecutive months, a shift market watchers say is reshaping Atlantic Basin fuel trade. The United States sent a historic 818,000 tonnes of jet fuel to Europe in April, before its shipments began to slide as Dangote Refinery jet fuel exports climbed.
Analysts say the trend reflects Nigeria’s wider shift from fuel importer to net exporter of high-value petroleum products, a transition that began when the refinery started commercial operations in January 2024.
With crude deliveries at record levels and Lekki terminal loadings rising, Dangote Refinery jet fuel exports look set to remain a fixture in Europe’s aviation fuel supply chain in the months ahead.
