The tanker is currently stationed off the coast of Lomé, a well-known hub for ship-to-ship (STS) transfers, sparking speculation about the final destination of its cargo.
Although this initial export is modest compared to the scale of the global gasoline market, it underscores the ramp-up of production at the 650,000 barrels per day refinery, the largest in Africa.
Championed as a project to end Nigeria’s import dependence for fuel, the 650,000 b/d refinery had been widely expected to market all of its gasoline domestically to service roughly 340,000 b/d of local demand.