The ongoing crisis in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector remains unresolved, as Dangote Refinery has announced that it has yet to receive the 26 million barrels of crude oil allocation reportedly facilitated by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).
This was disclosed by Anthony Chiejina, spokesperson for the Dangote Group, in a statement released on Friday. The statement was issued in response to NUPRC’s earlier claim that it had facilitated the allocation of 26 million barrels of crude oil to Dangote Refinery during the first quarter of 2024.
NUPRC also revealed plans to review its Domestic Crude Supply Obligation Regulations 2023. However, Dangote Refinery stated that it has not received the allocated crude.
“We appreciate the allocation, but we must clarify that we have yet to receive these cargoes,” the refinery said.
According to the statement, NUPRC has only facilitated the purchase of a single crude cargo from a domestic producer. The rest of the crude processed by Dangote Refinery has been purchased from international traders, aside from the term supply negotiated bilaterally with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
The refinery urged NUPRC to expedite the implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), which mandates that refineries in Nigeria should be able to purchase crude directly from local producers, rather than through international intermediaries.
“We are simply requesting that Nigerian refineries be allowed to buy crude directly from domestic producers, as outlined in the PIA,” the company added.
This situation underscores the ongoing challenges within Nigeria’s oil and gas sector, despite President Bola Tinubu’s recent directive for the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to sell crude oil to Dangote Refinery and other local refineries in Naira. As of now, the directive has yet to be implemented.
