The Dangote refinery said it never accused the National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) of not supplying the company with crude.
The company in a statement on Thursday by its Group Chief Branding and Communications Officer, Anthony Chiejina, made this known in reaction to reports alleging that it has backtracked by acknowledging that NNPC supplied about 60 per cent of the 50 million barrels it lifted.
Clarifying the reports, Mr Chiejina said the company has never accused NNPC of not supplying it with crude, noting that its concern has always been the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) reluctance to enforce the domestic crude supply obligation and ensure that it receives its full crude requirement from NNPC and the International Oil Companies (IOCs).
“Our attention has been drawn to media reports alleging that the Dangote Refinery has backtracked by acknowledging that NNPC supplied about 60 per cent 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,” Mr Chiejina said.
For September, he said, the company 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.
“We therefore still insist that we are unable to secure our full crude requirement from domestic production and urge NUPRC to fully enforce the domestic crude supply obligation as mandated by the PIA,” he added.