Dangote Refinery has reported that it has not yet received the 26 million barrels of crude oil allocation facilitated by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).
The statement, issued by the spokesperson of Dangote Group, Anthony Chiejina, on Friday, was in response to NUPRC's claim that it had facilitated the allocation in the first quarter of 2024. However, Dangote Refinery clarified that they are still waiting to receive these allocated cargoes.
The refinery clarified that, apart from a bilateral negotiation with NNPC, NUPRC has only facilitated the purchase of one crude cargo from a domestic producer, while the rest of the cargoes processed were acquired from international traders.
Dangote Refinery emphasized the importance of NUPRC facilitating the implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act to ensure domestic crude obligation. They urged refineries in Nigeria to directly purchase crude from local producers, as stipulated in the PIA.
This development follows Aliko Dangote's previous accusation against NUPRC for failing to enforce domestic supply obligations by International Oil Companies and other refiners in Nigeria, indicating existing challenges within the country's oil and gas sector.
Despite President Bola Tinubu's recent directive to Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to sell crude to Dangote Refinery and other local refineries in Naira, the directive is yet to come into effect.