In Nigeria, Dangote Refinery has once again urged the upstream petroleum regulatory body to take strict measures in accordance with existing regulations to facilitate the supply of local crude oil to the country’s refineries.
Call for Enforcement of Domestic Crude Supply Obligation
“We urge the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) to fully implement the Domestic Crude Supply Obligation as provided for in the Petroleum Act,” stated Anthony Chiejina, Head of Brand Strategy and Communication at Dangote Group.
Clarification on Supply Challenges
The company reiterated this call while providing clarifications regarding its supply challenges, which it attributes in part to the regulator’s failure to meet its obligations in this area.
Accusations of Backtracking and NNPC’s Role
This comes even as Dangote Refinery is accused of backtracking after its previous statement blaming the state-owned oil company (NNPC Ltd) for its inability to supply the necessary crude oil to the refinery as planned.
Focus on NUPRC’s Inaction
“Our concern has always been the reluctance of the NUPRC to enforce the Domestic Crude Supply Obligation and to ensure that we receive all the crude oil we need from NNPC and the multinationals,” the company stated.
Criticism of NUPRC and Price Gouging
While acknowledging that it has received 6 out of the 15 crude oil cargoes it needs from the state-owned company for September, Dangote Refinery criticizes the NUPRC’s inaction regarding the delivery of the remaining cargoes.
It also condemns the practice of inflating the purchase prices of Nigerian crude oil from international traders.
Reliance on Foreign Crude
Since its launch in January, the Dangote Refinery, with a refining capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, has been operating primarily with crude oil cargoes delivered from abroad.
This situation currently hinders the company’s ambition to end Nigeria’s dependence on petroleum product imports.