Olayiwola Matthew
The federal government has announced the approval of Dangote Refinery as the sole supplier of jet fuel, also known as Jet A1, for Nigeria’s airline operators.
This information was revealed by the Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo, during an interview with Channels TV, which aired on Tuesday.
Keyamo stated that the airline operators, with his approval and support, agreed to allow the 650,000 bpd refinery to be the exclusive provider of jet fuel to the operators.
He explained that the timing is ideal, as the federal government recently implemented the naira-for-crude agreement with Dangote. He emphasized that this arrangement would help ease the pressure on foreign exchange.
“The airline operators just met recently. With my blessing, it’s a decision from the airline operators in Nigeria that they should only buy from Dangote refinery Jet A1.
“You can see that yesterday we started naira-for-crude purchase with Dangote. It’s all Naira, no Dollar component,” Keyamo said.
Additionally, Keyamo noted that sourcing petrol from Dangote would shield airline operators from the impact of crude oil price fluctuations, ultimately reducing their operational costs.
“The price will no longer be subjected to the varying factors of the international market, nor the headwinds of oil price in the international market. It will be in local currency so we can be clear as to the cost of it. We will buy in naira. I’m sure we are going to have access to cheaper Jet A1 fuel,” Keyamo said.
Recall that in April 2024, the Dangote refinery began operation with the production of jet fuel and diesel, with the diesel hitting the local market the following month.
After selling some of its aviation fuel in Nigeria, the refinery also exported some of its cargo to Europe.
The first shipment, loaded onto the vessel “Doric Breeze,” left the Lekki Free Zone in Lagos on May 27th and is now on its way to Rotterdam, Netherlands, as per data from S&P Global Commodities at Sea.
The shipment included 45,000 metric tons of jet fuel, which was allocated to BP as part of a tender for 120,000 metric tons issued by the refinery.
Spanish refiner Cepsa also won part of this tender and is anticipated to deliver jet fuel to the continent shortly.
To date, Dangote has exported six cargoes of jet fuel/kerosene, all of which were delivered to Senegal, Togo, or Ghana.
What you should know
Africa’s wealthiest individual, Aliko Dangote, completed the Dangote refinery with a $20 billion investment.
This facility, capable of processing 650,000 barrels of oil per day, stands as the largest refinery in both Africa and Europe once it reaches full operational capacity, expected either this year or next.
The refinery aims to drastically cut Nigeria’s reliance on imported petroleum products.
Despite being Africa’s most populous nation and top oil producer, Nigeria imports nearly all its fuel, mainly due to a shortage of adequate refining infrastructure—a gap that the Dangote refinery intends to bridge.