The management of Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals has reacted to a statement by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), claiming to have facilitated 29 million crude oil barrels to the 650,000bpd Dangote refinery.
In a statement on Friday signed by Anthony Chiejina, Group Chief, Branding and Communication for Dangote Industries Limited, the Refinery stated that it was yet to receive the 29 million barrels of crude oil.
Meanwhile, the NUPRC had, while refuting Dangote’s claim of weak domestic oil supply enforcement, in a statement in Abuja, disclosed that the commission has facilitated 29 million barrels of crude oil to the Refinery in the first six months of 2024.
But in a swift reply, the refinery said, “We would like to thank them for this allocation but at the same time let them know that we are yet to receive these cargoes.”
Continuing, Dangote refinery noted that aside from the term supply it bilaterally negotiated with the nation’s oil company, NNPCL, “so far NUPRC has only facilitated the purchase of one crude cargo from a domestic producer. The rest of the cargoes we have processed were purchased from international traders.”
The company, however, noted that its only quest was for refineries in the country to buy crude oil from companies that produce it in Nigeria rather than from international middlemen, saying, “This is specified in the Petroleum Industry Act.”
“Unfortunately, the NUPRC has effectively admitted in their statement that they will be unable to enforce the domestic crude supply obligation as specified in the PIA “sanctity of contracts” as an excuse,” the statement added.