Dangote Refinery has clarified recent reports regarding its crude oil supply, stating that it has never accused the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) of failing to provide crude. Instead, the company’s concern lies with the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission’s (NUPRC) reluctance to enforce the domestic crude supply obligation, which has resulted in difficulties securing its full crude requirement.

In a statement released on Thursday by Anthony Chiejina, the Dangote Group’s Chief Branding and Communications Officer, the refinery addressed the issue: “Our attention has actually been drawn to media reports declaring that the Dangote Refinery has actually backtracked by acknowledging that NNPC provided about 60% of the 50 million barrels we raised. To clarify, we have actually never implicated NNPC of not supplying us with crude. Our concern has constantly been NUPRC’s reluctance to implement the domestic crude supply obligation and guarantee that we get our full crude requirement from NNPC and the IOCs.”

For September, Dangote Refinery required 15 cargoes of crude oil, but NNPC only allocated six. Despite repeated appeals to NUPRC, the company has been unable to secure the remaining cargoes. Attempts to source additional crude from International Oil Companies (IOCs) operating in Nigeria have been met with redirection to their international trading arms or claims that their cargoes are already committed elsewhere.

As a result, Dangote Refinery often purchases the same Nigerian crude from international traders at an additional premium of $3-$4 per barrel, translating to $3-$4 million per cargo. The refinery continues to urge NUPRC to fully enforce the domestic crude supply obligation as mandated by the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), ensuring it can meet its operational needs from domestic production.