The $20 billion Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lekki intends to acquire extra crude oil when its supply from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited runs out.
According to plant officials, the facility has increased production to roughly 500,000 barrels per day, to reach 650,000 barrels per day by June of this year.
Sources, who spoke in confidence because they were not authorised to speak to the media, noted that the facility will need to acquire more oil to reach its goal, even though they confirmed that the naira-for-crude contract is still in place as instructed by President Bola Tinubu last year.
According to reports, the NNPC is having trouble supplying 350,000 barrels per day of the 450,000 barrels of petroleum intended for local use in Nigeria to the refinery with a capacity of 650,000.
Officials stated that, given its present 500,000 bpd production capacity, it is necessary to search outside of Nigeria for the feedstock.
They contend that the issue is not that the NNPC cannot provide crude, but rather that the state-owned oil firm cannot provide all of the feedstock required by the refinery daily.
One of the plant’s reliable sources said, “Of course!” when asked if the refinery intends to acquire more crude now that the NNPC refineries are restarting.
“This refinery can process 650,000 barrels per day. Additionally, we are ramping up, as you are aware. We may reach 650,000 by the middle of the year, you see. Are you aware of the meaning of 650,000 bpd?”
This was confirmed by another source, who stated, “No one is claiming that NNPC is incapable of doing it. No! You see what we have, though. 200,000 barrels per day is not what we are. 650,000 barrels are at issue here. By mid-year, we will ramp up to 650,000 barrels per day from our current level of 500,000. Do you understand what it means? It is therefore common practice to source crude oil wherever it is accessible.”
In a different interview with reporters, a refinery consultant claimed that the game is just for the “big boys,” pointing out that the refinery is among the biggest in the world.
“The argument is not that NNPC is incapable of doing it. For the ‘big boys,’ the game is now available.
“How many refineries in the world have a capacity of 650,000? Throughout all of Europe, even? Have you read the report from OPEC? They claimed that the refinery was having an impact on their European PMS market. The eagle has landed, of course.”
Regarding Dangote petrol burn rate, the consultant clarified, “It’s easy. As you are aware, we are creating the Euro 5 standard. The quality will therefore inevitably be great. That is what the rate at which our petrol burns is causing for Nigerians.”
Nigerian refineries can no longer use the 450,000 barrels of crude oil allotted to them as their capacity grows.
This comes after the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission disclosed that 770,500 barrels of fuel would be required daily for the Dangote refinery, the Port Harcourt plant, and six additional refineries.
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority provided the NUPRC with data, which showed that the nation’s refining capacity, when considering only operational refineries, is 974,500 barrels per day.
