Dangote Industries Limited has clarified that it never blamed the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) for failing to supply crude oil to its refinery.
Instead, the company maintains its stance that the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has been reluctant to enforce the mandatory domestic crude supply obligation.
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The statement by the Group Chief Branding & Communications Officer Anthony Chiejina read: “Our attention has been drawn to media reports alleging that the Dangote Refinery has backtracked by acknowledging that NNPC supplied about 60% of the 50 million barrels we lifted,”
“To clarify, we have never accused NNPC of not supplying us with crude. Our concern has always been NUPRC’s reluctance to enforce the domestic crude supply obligation, and ensuring that we receive our full crude requirement from NNPC and the IOCs.”
He stated that the refinery required 15 crude oil cargoes for September, but only six were allotted to the NNPCL.
“For September, our requirement is 15 cargoes, of which NNPC allocated six. Despite appealing to NUPRC, we’ve been unable to secure the remaining cargoes. When we approached IOCs producing in Nigeria, they redirected us to their international trading arms or responded that their cargoes were committed,” it said.
“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. 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.”
