This is according to a Friday statement
Bella Ifasola
Dangote Petroleum Refinery purchases Nigerian crude from international traders at a premium of $3 to $4 per barrel, translating to an additional $3 to $4 million per cargo, the group said Friday.
Anthony Chiejina, Chief, Branding and Communications Officer of Dangote Group explained in a Friday statement that the refinery’s crude oil supply challenges lie with the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and International Oil Companies (IOCs) in Nigeria, not with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited.
Chiejina stated that Dangote Refinery had never accused NNPCL of failing to supply crude, acknowledging that the company had indeed supplied around 60% of the 50 million barrels lifted.
The clarification aims to set the record straight on the Dangote Refinery’s crude supply situation.
“To clarify, we have never accused NNPC of not supplying us with crude. Our concern has always been that NUPRC is pushing but IOCs are not following the instructions to enforce the domestic crude supply obligation and ensure that we receive our full crude requirement from NNPC and the IOCs,” the company noted.
Giving specific example, Dangote Petroleum Refinery stated that for September, it has a requirement of 15 cargoes, of which NNPC allocated only six.
“Despite appealing to NUPRC and their intervention, we’ve been unable to secure the remaining cargoes,” Chiejina’s statement revealed.
“When we approached IOCs producing in Nigeria, they redirected us to their international trading arms or responded that their cargoes were committed.
“Consequently, we often purchase the same Nigerian crude from international traders at an additional $3-$4 premium per barrel which translates to $3-$4 million per cargo,” it said.
The company insisted that they are unable to secure their full crude requirement from domestic production and urged NUPRC to fully enforce the domestic crude supply obligation as mandated by the Petroleum Industrial Act (PIA).
“We, therefore, still insist that we are unable to secure our full crude requirement from domestic production and urge NUPRC to fully enforce the domestic crude supply obligation as mandated by the PIA.
“It is a law and they just need to comply,” Chiejina said in the statement.