By Miracle Ogunde
Following insufficient supply of crude from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company, the Dangote Petroleum Refinery is targeting importing crude oil feedstock.
An official who preferred anonymity disclosed this to DAILY POST, saying the company has ramped up production to a 500,000-per-day capacity and targets a 650,000 bpd capacity by June 2025.
According to the source, NNPCL supplied Dangote Refinery around 350,000 bpd from the 450,000 bpd crude meant for Nigeria’s local consumption.
He clarified that at the current 500,000 bpd capacity, the firm will have no choice but to look beyond Nigeria for crude feedstock.
“Currently, we are at 500,000 bpd; we will ramp to 650,000 by midyear. Do you know what it means? So, it is a normal process to source crude oil anywhere it is available,” the source said.
In July last year, the President approved a Naira for crude sales deal to boost crude supply to domestic refineries with a targeted 450,000 bpd.
In October, the committee responsible for the implementation of the deal announced that it has asked NNPCL to commence supply of the crude feedstock; however, it is only for fuel production at the refinery- in this case, Dangote Refinery.
With the revival of Port Harcourt refinery in November and Warri refinery in December, more refineries are expected to benefit from the Naira for crude deal.
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission said 123.5 million barrels of crude would be needed by eight refineries in the first six months of 2025.
“Importing crude from other countries instead of buying locally means that our crude stockpiles will have to be higher,” Devakumar Edwin, Vice President at Dangote Industries, was quoted as having said.
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