The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) in compliance with petroleum Act, is set to supply the new Dangote oil refinery with up to six million barrels of crude oil in December, to be used in test run.
This follows after the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) summoned the producers to sensitise them on the need to comply with their domestic supply obligations to local refineries in line with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
The refinery, with a capacity to produce 650,000 barrel-per-day and funded by Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote, would transform oil trading in the Atlantic Basin and remove a lucrative outlet for fuel produced in Europe and the United States that have for years powered the cars, trucks and generators on the continent, Reuters reported.
Once it is fully up and running , the refinery which is sitting on a 2,635 hectares of land located in the Free Zone in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos would turn oil powerhouse Nigeria into a net exporter of fuels, a long-sought goal for the member of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) that is currently almost totally reliant on imports.
A Dangote Group official, who spoke on anonymity said “some of the agreements have confidentiality clauses” without elaborating when asked about the NNPC supply deal. The NNPC has a 20 per cent stake in the refinery.
The refinery began the commissioning process in May this year after running years behind schedule at a cost of $19 billion, above initial estimates of $12-14 billion.
During the week, the Gbenga Komolafe-led NUPRC stated that “it is going to be a matter of national shame if we cannot meet our domestic crude obligations to step up our refining capacity. Komolafe added that the Dangote refinery was ready and should be provided with crude.
|Arise News
