The Dangote Refinery has clarified that it never accused the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) of failing to supply crude oil to the refinery, as reported by Premium Times.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!In a statement released on Thursday by its Group Chief Branding and Communications Officer, Anthony Chiejina, the company responded to reports claiming it had acknowledged receiving about 60 percent of the 50 million barrels lifted from NNPC.
He said, “Our attention has been drawn to media reports alleging that the Dangote Refinery has backtracked by acknowledging that NNPC supplied about 60 per cent 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 ensure that we receive our full crude requirement from NNPC and the IOCs.”
Chiejina stated that the refinery’s concern has always been the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission’s (NUPRC) hesitation to enforce the domestic crude supply obligation.
The refinery has been seeking the commission’s assistance to ensure it receives the full amount of crude needed from NNPC and International Oil Companies (IOCs).
According to Chiejina, the refinery required 15 cargoes for September, but NNPC allocated only six. Despite multiple appeals to the NUPRC, the company has been unable to obtain the remaining cargoes.
When they approached IOCs operating in Nigeria, they were either referred to international trading branches or informed that the cargoes were already committed elsewhere.
Due to this, the refinery often ends up buying the same Nigerian crude from international traders at a higher price, paying an additional $3-$4 per barrel, which adds up to $3-$4 million per cargo.
Chiejina reiterated that the refinery is still unable to secure its full crude supply from domestic sources and called on the NUPRC to fully enforce the domestic crude supply obligation as required by the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
