Dangote Refinery has issued a formal clarification addressing recent media reports concerning the supply of crude oil to its facility.
The refinery refutes claims that it acknowledged receiving 60 per cent of the 50 million barrels it lifted from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
In a statement, Anthony Chiejina, Group Chief Branding and Communications Officer, emphasized that the refinery has never accused NNPC of failing to provide crude oil.
“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 ensure that we receive our full crude requirement from NNPC and the IOCs.
“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.
“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,” he said.
He, however, insisted that the refinery is unable to secure full crude requirement from domestic production and urged NUPRC to fully enforce the domestic crude supply obligation as mandated by the PIA.
