Once seen as a potential solution to Nigeria’s reliance on fuel imports, the refinery’s development has been plagued by uncertainty, leading to questions about its ability to meet the country’s energy needs.Dangote Industries Limited (DIL) and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) are engaged in a disagreement regarding the accessibility of crude oil for domestic refiners.
The NUPRC has stated that International Oil Companies (IOCs) are willing to sell crude oil to domestic refiners, but DIL has disputed this claim. According to DIL, IOCs are actually creating barriers for domestic refiners to access local crude oil, often resulting in the need for intermediaries and inflated prices.
Devakumar Edwin, vice-president at DIL directly contradicted NUPRC CEO Gbenga Komolafe’s statement that the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) ensures a “willing buyer-willing seller relationship” for crude, BusinessDay reports. Edwin claims that while only one local producer, Sapetro, sells directly to DIL, others rely on non-Nigerian trading arms that add unnecessary costs. Edwin said, “The NUPRC has been very supportive to the Dangote Refinery as they have intervened several times to help us secure crude supply. “However, the NUPRC chief executive was probably misquoted by some people hence his statement that IOCs did not refuse to sell to us. To set the records straight, we would like to recap the facts below.”
This development comes weeks after Dangote refinery and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) were engaged in public spat over alleged importation of dirty fuel into the country, a claim the NMDPRA denied. The production of refined fuel by the Dangote Refinery has been a topic of considerable discussion and controversy. Once seen as a potential solution to Nigeria’s reliance on fuel imports, the refinery’s development has been plagued by uncertainty, leading to questions about its ability to meet the country’s energy needs. The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has reduced its stake in the Dangote Refinery from 20% to 7.2% due to non-payment issues.
Source: saharareporters.com