Business

Refinery Saga: NNPCL Supplies Insufficient Crude Oil To Us, Dangote Cries Out

Published

11 months ago

July 27, 2024

Amidst the lingering crisis, Dangote Refinery has revealed that the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, is supplying insufficient crude oil for its production demand, hence it is planning to source from brazil and America.

The President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA, alongside NNPCL, had been locked in a dispute, ranging from monopoly allegations to supply of crude for the refinery, substandard fuel imports and ownership of blending plants in Malta.

However, Dangote, in a new revelation, said for the $20 billion refinery to meet its production demand, it must look for other sources of crude oil supply overseas as the NNPCL allocation is insufficient.

He said the refinery, which has the capacity of refining 650,000 per day, could not defend on short supply from Nigeria’s oil company.

Rabiu A. Umar, Group Chief Commercial Officer, Dangote Industries Limited, told newsmen in Kano on Friday that NNPC supplies only 33 perc ent of crude to the refinery, disclosing that it had to look elsewhere to source the remaining 67 percent to meet its production capacity.

According to Umar, the refinery had concluded plans to supply crude oil from Brazil and America by August.

“First of all the refinery is here in Nigeria. We have the crude oil here in Nigeria. We thought we would get the crude oil here and refined it here in our refinery for the benefit of the country and the citizens.

“Ironically, the country takes the crude oil overseas for refining while we have a refinery, one of the biggest in the world.

“So, we will not stay idle. We have to look for other sources to meet our production capacity. If we get the crude oil supply here in the country we have no reason to go overseas.

“Even now, we are planning to supply crude oil from countries like Brazil and the USA,” he said.

He said the refinery had commenced supplies to foreign countries since February, disclosing that they receive orders from different countries for supply, especially aviation fuel.

The Chief Commercial Officer also revealed that the refinery needs 15 cargos of crude oil in September but NNPCL promised only 5 to it, lamenting that they see the government’s lackadaisical actions towards the refinery as sabotage.

According to him, the refinery should be celebrated and embraced by the government rather than painting it black as it is the biggest employer of labour with over 50,000 workers at the moment.

He emphasized that against the government’s false narratives, the refinery had started on a positive note as the quality of its refined products would be standard.

He said even the House of Representatives, under the leadership of the its speaker, visited the refinery, saw the difference and was satisfied with the quality of the products.

The official also said, “we are here to defend ourselves and all the government narratives are not true. We urge the people to take samples of our products to ascertain their quality.

“We will not be deterred by the government’s criticism. We will continue until we reach the promised land.

A business analyst in Kano, Abdussalam Kani, on his part demanded an apology to Dangote by the federal government and the national Assembly.

He also levelled the NMDPRA boss, Ahmed Farouk’s comments against the refinery treasonable offence that deserves punishment .

Business

Naira Depreciates Against Dollar

Published

24 hours ago

July 4, 2025

Editor

The Naira experienced a slight depreciation on Friday at the official market, trading at N1,528.56 to the dollar.

Data obtained from the website of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showed that the Naira lost N2.73.

This represents a 0.17 percent loss compared to the N1,525.82 recorded on Thursday.

The Naira, which opened the week on Monday with a gain of N9.52 against the dollar, held steady gains until Thursday.

On Wednesday, the local currency gained N3.42 against the dollar and received commendation from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The IMF, in its 2025 Article IV Consultation report on Nigeria, commended the CBN for its reforms to the foreign exchange market, which supported price discovery and liquidity.

Business

JUST IN: Dangote Refinery Hikes Petrol Ex-depot Price

Published

2 weeks ago

June 20, 2025

Editor

Nigerians may soon pay more for petrol as the Dangote Petroleum Refinery on Friday increased its ex-depot price for Premium Motor Spirit to N880 per litre, raising fresh concerns over fuel affordability and price volatility in the downstream sector.

Checks on petroleumprice.ng, a platform tracking daily product prices, and a Pro Forma Invoice seen by The PUNCH confirmed the hike, representing a N55 increase from the previous rate of N825 per litre.

The increment would ripple across the entire fuel distribution chain, likely pushing pump prices above N900/litre in some parts of the country, especially in areas far from the distribution hubs.

The hike comes despite global crude prices falling. Brent crude dipped by 3.02% to $76.47, WTI fell to $74.93, and Murban dropped to $76.97 on Friday. The decline in benchmarks offers little relief due to persistent fears of sudden supply disruptions.

The refinery has increased its reliance on imported U.S. crude and operational costs amid exchange rate instability, which adds to its pricing pressure.

On Thursday, the President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, said his 650,000-barrel capacity refinery is “increasingly” relying on the United States for crude oil.

This came as findings showed that the Dangote Petroleum Refinery is projected to import a total of 17.65 million barrels of crude oil between April and July 2025, beginning with about 3.65 million barrels already delivered in the past two months, amid ongoing allocations under the Federal Government’s naira-for-crude policy.

Dangote informed the Technical Committee of the One-Stop Shop for the sale of crude and refined products in naira initiative that the refinery was still battling crude shortages, which had led it to resort to imports from the United States.

On Monday, the president of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, Festus Osifo, accused oil marketers of exploiting Nigerians through inflated petrol prices, insisting that the current pump price of PMS should range between N700 and N750 per litre.

He criticised the disparity between falling global crude oil prices and the stagnant retail price of petrol in Nigeria.

“If you go online and check the PLAT cost per cubic metre of PMS, convert that to litres and then to our Naira, you will see that with crude at around $60 per barrel, petrol should be retailing between N700 and N750 per litre.”

He asserted that if Nigerians bear the brunt of higher fuel costs, they should be allowed to enjoy the benefit of low pricing.

His forecast of increased costs now appears spot on, considering the latest developments.

Marketers are already adjusting. Depot owners and fuel distributors in Lagos and other cities anticipate a domino effect, with new price bands expected to follow Dangote’s lead.

Many had held back pricing decisions since Tuesday, when the refinery halted sales and withheld fresh PFIs. The delay fueled speculation, allowing opportunistic price hikes across various depots.

Business

Naira Appreciates At Official Market

Published

1 month ago

May 24, 2025

Editor

The Naira, which has seen steady appreciation against the Dollar all week, closed stronger on Friday, trading at ₦1,580.44 in the official forex market.

Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria’s website show the Naira gained ₦4.51k against the Dollar on Friday alone.

This marks a 0.28 per cent appreciation from Thursday’s closing rate of ₦1,584.95 in the official foreign exchange window.

The local currency maintained consistent strength throughout the week, recording gains daily.

On Monday, May 19, it traded at ₦1,598.68; on Tuesday, at ₦1,590.45; and on Wednesday, at ₦1,584.49.

These gains suggest increased investor confidence and improved forex supply, contributing to the naira’s performance.

Meanwhile, the CBN, at its 300th Monetary Policy Committee meeting held Monday and Tuesday, retained the Monetary Policy Rate at 27.5 per cent.