Dangote Refinery denies receiving seven-cargo crude allocation from NNPC

Officials of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery have dismissed reports claiming that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) allocated seven crude oil cargoes to the facility for May loading.

Although discussions are ongoing with NNPC, senior refinery officials disclosed that on Thursday that they were unaware of any decision increasing their monthly allocation from five to seven cargoes, as reported by Reuters.

According to them, the refinery expects to receive about 6.15 million barrels—equivalent to roughly six cargoes—in May, not seven.

“Our May allocation is about 6.15 million barrels. The report of seven cargoes’ allocation is not clear yet,” one official said.

Another official reiterated that the 650,000-barrel-per-day refinery requires 19.77 million barrels (over 19 cargoes) monthly to operate optimally, but is consistently supplied far less.

Historical deliveries from NNPC include 4.55 million barrels in October, 6.45 million in November, 4.30 million in December, 5.65 million in January, and 4.66 million in February.

March allocation was around 6 million barrels.

The officials again appealed for increased crude supply, noting that inadequate local feedstock has forced the refinery to depend heavily on more expensive imported crude.

Amid global market volatility triggered by the Iran–US conflict and the tightening of supply routes such as the Strait of Hormuz, the refinery has raised petrol prices above N1,200 per litre.

In a recent statement, the refinery said local crude producers were not complying with the Petroleum Industry Act’s domestic supply requirements, and that NNPC’s five monthly cargoes—priced at international rates—remain insufficient.

“While we receive about five cargoes a month from NNPC, priced at international market rates plus premium, these fall short of the 13 cargoes required to support sales into Nigeria.

Upstream producers have failed to supply mandated crude, forcing us to buy at additional premiums from international traders,” the company stated.

Sources within NNPC, however, told The PUNCH that the national oil firm is working to boost supply to the Dangote refinery.

They said NNPC is leveraging its global trading network to secure third-party crude at competitive prices to support domestic refining.

“As the national oil company responsible for safeguarding Nigeria’s energy security, we remain committed to supporting the Dangote refinery within existing agreements,” a senior NNPC official said.

With geopolitical tensions driving up crude prices worldwide, economists have urged the Federal Government to consider selling crude to the refinery at a fixed rate to prevent further fuel-driven inflation.

Economist Bismarck Rewane suggested that a fixed-price supply arrangement could help stabilise the cost of refined products.

The Dangote refinery has become a crucial supplier of diesel and aviation fuel in international markets, where prices continue to surge.