The operators of Dangote Refinery and Petrochemical Plant have refuted claims made by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) regarding the supply of crude oil.
NUPRC had recently stated that it supplied 32 million barrels of crude oil to nine refineries between January and June this year, with Dangote Refinery allegedly receiving 29 million barrels.
Chiejina said: “We are in receipt of NUPRC’s statement that they have facilitated the allocation of 29 million barrels of crude oil to the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals.
“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.
“Aside from the term supply we bilaterally negotiated with NNPC, 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.”
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He said refineries in Nigeria should buy crude directly from the companies that produce it in Nigeria instead of international middlemen as specified in the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
The spokesman pointed out that NUPRC has admitted in their statement that they would be unable to enforce the domestic crude supply obligation as specified in the PIA, citing the sanctity of contracts as an excuse.
However, in a statement released on Friday by Anthony Chiejina, Chief Branding and Communications Officer of Dangote Refinery, the company denied receiving the crude oil allocation.
Chiejina acknowledged the NUPRC’s statement but clarified that the refinery has yet to receive the cargoes mentioned.
Chiejina noted that aside from a term supply negotiated directly with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), the refinery has only purchased one crude cargo facilitated by NUPRC from a domestic producer.
The rest of the crude processed at the refinery was sourced from international traders.