Algeria’s state-owned energy giant Sonatrach has begun supplying Jet A1 aviation fuel to Niger for the first time, opening a new supply route into the Sahel and potentially creating another competitor to Nigeria’s Dangote Refinery as it expands its reach across West Africa.

Sonatrach said the first contractual deliveries began on August 15 from its Adrar refinery, known as RA1D, to the Nigerien market under a sale-and-purchase agreement with Niger’s state-owned oil company, SONIDEP.

The Algerian company described the deliveries as the effective start of commercial cooperation between Sonatrach and SONIDEP and said they were part of Algeria’s broader push to strengthen commercial relations with Niger.

More significantly, Sonatrach said the deal demonstrates its interest in direct cooperation with African oil and gas companies, particularly in the Sahel, and could pave the way for regular supplies of Algerian petroleum products to other countries in the region.

Algeria expands its fuel footprint in the Sahel

The move gives Niger another source of aviation fuel as Algeria expands its downstream presence across the Sahel.

The Jet A1 deliveries follow broader cooperation between Sonatrach and SONIDEP. On August 14, the two companies also loaded their first jointly marketed cargo of Nigerien Meleck crude from the Sèmè terminal in Benin, showing that the relationship is developing around both crude marketing and refined-product supply.

The development could become more significant if Sonatrach extends its supply model to other landlocked Sahel markets. Algeria has already been exploring wider petroleum-product cooperation with Burkina Faso, while its distributor Naftal has discussed supplying Niger with unleaded gasoline, Jet A1 and LPG.

That puts Algeria in an increasingly direct position to compete with Nigeria's Dangote Petroleum Refinery for regional fuel markets.

Dangote has positioned its 700,000-barrel-per-day refinery as a major supplier to Africa and international markets.

The company says the refinery produces aviation fuel and has exported jet fuel to Europe, the United States and other international destinations. It has also said its broader strategy is to use Nigeria's refining capacity to supply African markets and reduce the continent's dependence on imported petroleum products.

Dangote's own executives have said the refinery produces around 20 million litres of jet fuel daily, with production beyond Nigerian consumption available for export.

The company has also reported recent exports of refined products to African markets including Cameroon, Ghana, Angola and South Africa, while jet fuel has been heavily exported to European markets.

Sonatrach's move therefore introduces another large North African supplier into a market where Dangote has been seeking to build a dominant regional position.

Sonatrach's first Jet A1 delivery does not yet amount to a challenge to Dangote's overall regional dominance. But the company's statement that the Niger deal could lead to regular petroleum-product supplies to other Sahel countries suggests that Algeria is positioning itself for a larger role.

For West Africa's fuel market, that could mean a new contest is emerging — not only between refineries, but between competing regional supply networks. (Business Insider Africa)