Dangote Refinery Disputes NUPRC Claim on Crude Rejection
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has claimed that the Dangote Petroleum Refinery rejected about 15.5 million barrels of crude oil offered to it in the second quarter of 2026.
The refinery, however, disputed the figures and demanded proof.
According to NUPRC’s Q2 2026 Domestic Crude Supply Obligation (DCSO) report, producers offered 68.1 million barrels to the refinery, but only 52.6 million barrels were accepted—representing 78 per cent of the volume offered.
“Eventually, 52.6 million barrels were accepted by the Dangote refinery. This implies that the refinery only accepted 78 per cent of what it was offered,” the commission stated.
The report noted that the refinery required 63 million barrels during the quarter, but producers offered slightly more.
The DCSO framework, established under the Petroleum Industry Act, requires producers to make crude available to domestic refineries, though it operates on a “willing buyer, willing seller” basis.
Overall, NUPRC said 53.7 million barrels of crude oil and condensate were supplied to local refiners between April and June, representing a performance rate of 97.4 per cent.
The commission attributed improvements in compliance to increased local production and long-term supply agreements between producers and refiners.
Monthly figures showed mixed compliance: April recorded 114.9 per cent performance against allocation, May dropped to 75.8 per cent, while June rebounded to 102.4 per cent.
The regulator reaffirmed its commitment to enforcing the DCSO framework and sustaining gains in crude production.
Dangote Refinery, however, challenged the commission’s claims.
“Let them show us the statistics, we’ll now compare and check because they can’t just by word of mouth tell you, ‘Oh, we give this to Dangote’. It’s crude, it’s not pepper,” said company spokesman Anthony Chiejina.