The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) has commenced operations at its Port Harcourt refinery with the sale of its first cargo of low sulfur straight run fuel oil (LSSR).
The first shipment, which will be loaded aboard the Wonder Star MR1 ship, is set to transport 15,000 metric tons (approximately 13.6 million litres) of the refined product to Dubai-based Gulf Transport & Trading Limited (GTT).
The sale, which follows months of refurbishing the refinery, signals a new era for the Port Harcourt plant, marking its return to full operation and positioning it to make a significant impact on global oil markets.
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The product has a sulfur content of 0.26 percent and a density of 0.918 g/ml at 15°C, according to Kpler, a data and analysis company.
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This initial shipment, although modest in volume, has the potential to disrupt global benchmarks for Very Low Sulphur Fuel Oil (VLSFO) and shift market dynamics for Atlantic Basin exporters.
The cargo was sold at a discount of $8.50 per ton against the Northwest Europe (NWE) 0.5 percent benchmark, on a Free on Board (FOB) basis, Kpler reports.