Dangote Accuses IOCs Of Plotting Failure Of Its Refinery

The Vice President, Oil and Gas, at Dangote Industries Limited, Devakumar Edwin, has accused International Oil Companies (IOCs) in Nigeria of doing everything to frustrate the survival of Dangote Oil Refinery and Petrochemicals.

While the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) are trying their best to allocate the crude for us, the IOCs are deliberately and willfully frustrating our efforts to buy the local crude. It would be recalled that the NUPRC, recently met with crude oil producers as well as refineries owners in Nigeria, in a bid to ensure full adherence to Domestic Crude Oil Supply Obligations (DCSO), as enunciated under section 109(2) of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).

It appears that the objective of the IOCs is to ensure that Nigeria remains a country which exports crude oil and imports refined petroleum products. They (IOCs) are keen on exporting the raw materials to their home countries, creating employment and wealth for their countries, adding to their GDP, and dumping the expensive refined products into Nigeria. This makes us dependent on imported products.

The Dangote Refinery official said the decision of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), in granting licenses indiscriminately for the importation of dirty diesel and aviation fuel has made the refinery to expand into foreign markets.

The refinery recently exported diesel and aviation fuel to Europe and other parts of the world.

The same industry players fought us for crashing the price of diesel and aviation fuel, but our aim is to grow our economy, he said.

Edwin noted that Dangote Refinery is designed to process Nigerian crude, adding that the refinery’s success would benefit the nation’s economy.

He explained that the refinery’s ability to process Nigerian crude would reduce the country’s dependence on foreign exchange, create jobs, and increase the country’s GDP.

Edwin also commended the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) for their efforts in ensuring that the refinery gets the necessary crude oil supply.

He, however, appealed to the Federal Government to support the refinery’s quest to access crude oil from the IOCs, saying that the refinery’s success would be a game-changer for the nation’s economy.

“The success of Dangote Refinery would be a testament to the fact that Nigeria can produce and refine its own crude oil, creating jobs and growing the economy,” Edwin said.

He added that the refinery’s ability to export diesel and aviation fuel to Europe and other parts of the world was a testament to its quality and competitiveness.

The Dangote Refinery is a 650,000 barrels per day (bpd) integrated refinery and petrochemical complex, which is expected to meet the country’s demand for refined petroleum products and also export to other countries.

The refinery, which is located in the Lekki Free Trade Zone, Lagos, is expected to reduce Nigeria’s dependence on imported petroleum products and create jobs for thousands of Nigerians.