The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has made its first sale of low-sulfur straight-run fuel oil (LSSR) from the Port-Harcourt Refinery.
The buyer, Gulf Transport & Trading Limited (GTT) based in Dubai, is expected to load the cargo on the Wonder Star MR1 ship in the coming days. This marks the beginning of operations at the refinery and the export of petroleum products.
The ship will carry 15,000 metric tons of LSSR, which is approximately 13.6 million liters of the product. Although the initial volume is small, this development has the potential to affect the global Very Low Sulfur Fuel Oil (VLSFO) market, especially for exporters to Nigeria and other regions.
The sulfur content of the LSSR being exported stands at 0.26 percent by weight, with a density of 0.918 g/ml at 15°C. According to reports, the cargo was sold at an $8.50 per ton discount compared to the NWE 0.5 percent benchmark on a Free on Board (FOB) basis.
This move is expected to reduce Nigeria’s reliance on imports from traditional suppliers in Africa and Europe.
As Nigeria’s clean product imports decrease, it is anticipated that imports into the wider West Africa region will also drop.
