The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has announced plans to supply over 17.6 million barrels of crude oil to the Dangote Petroleum Refinery between September and October 2024.
This initiative is part of the federal government’s efforts to bolster local petroleum production.
Speaking in an interview with Arise Television on Thursday, Adedapo Segun, NNPC’s executive vice-president of downstream, outlined the strategy.
The crude oil supply equates to an average daily delivery of 288,524 barrels, representing roughly 44 percent of the refinery’s total production capacity of 650,000 barrels per day.
“We’ve provided over 30 million barrels of crude oil to Dangote refinery so far,” Segun said.
“This month alone, we will be providing 6.3 million barrels of crude oil to Dangote refinery in seven cargoes. And in October, we’ll be providing another 11.3 million barrels of crude oil in 13 cargoes.”
Dangote refinery, which began petrol production earlier this week, is expected to supply 25 million litres of petrol per day in September, with plans to increase this output to 30 million litres per day starting in October, according to the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).
The announcement comes in the wake of a significant increase in the price of premium motor spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol.
Two days after the refinery began production, NNPC raised the price of petrol to N855 per litre across its retail outlets, intensifying concerns amid ongoing fuel scarcity and long queues at petrol stations.
NNPC has reassured Nigerians that it is doing everything possible to address the scarcity.
“We’re doing everything we can to make sure that this situation abates as soon as possible,” Segun emphasized.
In addition to its partnership with Dangote refinery, NNPC is also focused on the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt refinery.
Although the refinery’s mechanical rehabilitation was completed in December 2023, Segun noted that there are still critical steps to be taken to ensure its safe operation.
“I’ll tell you for a fact that the heaters in Port Harcourt refinery have been fired up. They started working last month. But it takes a process to get it rolling,” he said, stressing that safety is paramount.
“To run refineries is very delicate. It’s not something that if you find a situation that’s going to impact the safe operation of the refinery, you go ahead because you’ve given a date. Safety is most important.”
Segun emphasized that NNPC will intervene whenever necessary to ensure safe operations, adding, “Every individual that works in that refinery has a family. We need to ensure that they go home after work every day.”
NNPC’s commitment to supporting local production through the Dangote refinery and its cautious approach to refinery rehabilitation are seen as critical measures to alleviate the country’s fuel challenges.