The President of the Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, has accused International Oil Companies (IOCs) of being the biggest hindrance to the steady supply of crude oil to the 650,000 barrels-per-day Dangote Refinery.
Speaking on Tuesday at the West African Refined Products Pricing and Markets Development Conference, organised by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) in Abuja, Dangote revealed that his refinery has been forced to import between 9 and 10 million barrels of crude oil every month from the United States and Europe to stay operational.
“Rather than buying crude oil directly from the Nigerian producers at competitive terms, we found ourselves having to negotiate with international trading companies who were buying Nigerian crude and reselling it to us with hefty premiums,” he said.
According to Dangote, efforts to source crude locally have been consistently undermined by upstream operators who not only delay lifting schedules but also impose excessive port and regulatory charges.
“IOCs have been the most difficult part of our journey. Even after scaling the crude, transporting it became another bottleneck. And lifting schedules were constantly shifted,” he lamented.
Despite these challenges, Dangote disclosed that the refinery has managed to export one million tonnes of petrol within the last 50 days, a milestone he said signals progress and resilience.
The Dangote Refinery, situated in Lagos, is the largest single-train refinery in the world and is seen as a potential game changer for Nigeria’s fuel self-sufficiency and export revenues. However, the struggle to secure reliable local crude supply continues to be a major concern, raising questions about the cooperation of IOCs in Nigeria’s broader energy transition and industrialisation agenda.
