“Oil Allocation Dispute: Dangote Refinery, NUPRC at Odds

The crisis in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector shows no signs of abating as the Dangote Refinery has announced that it has yet to receive the 26 million barrels of crude oil allocation that the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) claimed to have facilitated.

Anthony Chiejina, the spokesperson for Dangote Group, disclosed this in a statement on Friday. Chiejina’s statement was a response to NUPRC’s earlier claim that it had facilitated the allocation of 26 million barrels of crude oil to Dangote Refinery in the first quarter of 2024.

The Dangote Refinery, a significant player in Nigeria’s efforts to boost local refining capacity and reduce dependency on imported petroleum products, emphasized the importance of receiving this crude allocation to commence full-scale operations. The refinery is crucial for addressing the chronic shortages and high costs of petroleum products in the country.

Chiejina expressed concern over the delay and urged the NUPRC to expedite the process to ensure that the refinery can begin production as planned. He highlighted that the timely delivery of crude oil is essential for the refinery’s operations and for achieving the government’s goals of energy self-sufficiency and economic stability.

The delay in crude allocation has exacerbated the ongoing challenges within Nigeria’s oil and gas sector, which has been plagued by issues such as oil theft, pipeline vandalism, and inefficiencies in the regulatory framework. The situation underscores the need for improved coordination and transparency between regulatory bodies and industry stakeholders to ensure the smooth functioning of critical infrastructure projects like the Dangote Refinery.

In light of these challenges, stakeholders in the industry are calling for swift action and greater accountability to address the bottlenecks and ensure that the refinery can contribute effectively to Nigeria’s energy sector.