Follow Us on Google
-
Says 11 cargoes were rejected by refiners
From Adanna Nnamani, Abuja
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has dismissed claims of crude oil shortages by local refiners, revealing that 11 cargoes offered for domestic refining in April alone were not taken up.
Speaking at the Crude Oil Refinery-Owners Association of Nigeria (CORAN) summit recently in Lagos, the Chief Executive of NUPRC, Gbenga Komolafe, said the Commission had consistently made crude available under the Domestic Crude Supply Obligation (DCSO) policy.
Komolafe, who was represented by an official of the Commission, Boma Atiyegoba, stated that although refiners have repeatedly complained about a lack of feedstock for local refining, records from the NUPRC indicate that crude oil was indeed being supplied under the DCSO.
He said: “I will use April to make a reference in terms of the DCSO and availability of crude to the refiners. If you look at our database, in April, we have about 48 cargoes that are available for Nigeria export. Of those 48 cargoes, 21 of them were reserved for DCSO. In the month of April, there were 48 crude cargoes; 21 of the cargoes were for DCSO, which amounts to 21 million barrels of oil. Of the 21 that were offered for DCSO, only 10 of them were taken; 11 of them did not fall through.”
He noted that the challenges were not due to unavailability of crude but primarily commercial and technical.
According to him, the Commission allows refiners and producers to negotiate prices independently under a “willing buyer, willing seller” arrangement to avoid interference in market dynamics.
“Crude oil is an international commodity. Pricing is influenced by multiple factors. If a refiner finds a price or crude grade unsuitable for their refining configuration or economic model, they may opt not to lift,” he added.
However, Vice-Chairman of CORAN, Mrs Dolapo Okulaja, challenged the NUPRC’s stance. She argued that while crude may be allocated on paper, most refiners do not receive the volumes needed for efficient operations.
“How do I repay my investors if I build a 20,000-barrel refinery and receive only 5,000 barrels per day? There is a clear imbalance,” she queried.
Other News
Okulaja also criticised the perception that Nigerian refiners were selective or “spoilt”.
“We are not spoilt. We are hard-working, and we are adding value by refining crude locally instead of exporting it. But logistics and infrastructure challenges, like the lack of pipelines, make things even harder,” she said.
Also speaking, the Executive Secretary of the African Refiners and Distributors Association (ARDA), Anibor Kragha, called for Nigerian refineries to diversify the range of crude blends they can process. He noted that such upgrades would reduce dependence on specific grades and enhance local refining capacity.
“Our refiners need to develop a crude slate to improve refining economics. This requires investment, but it’s essential for long-term sustainability,” Kragha said.
On his part, CORAN President, Momoh Oyarekhua, noted that some provisions of the PIA, while aimed at supporting local refining, inadvertently complicate the supply framework.
“The PIA mandates domestic crude supply but also imposes a willing buyer, willing seller clause; that contradiction creates operational uncertainty,” he argued.
The issue of crude availability has been a long-standing concern among local refiners. The 650,000-barrel-per-day Dangote Refinery, for example, has publicly lamented insufficient domestic crude and has increasingly turned to U.S. suppliers to meet its processing needs.
Modular refinery operators have echoed similar frustrations, calling on the Federal Government to fully implement the DCSO provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
