Nigeria lacks sufficient crude to supply Dangote Refinery

Nigeria’s Minister of Finance, Taiwo Oyedele, has stated that the country currently lacks sufficient unallocated crude oil to meet the 700,000 barrels per day requirement of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery.

Oyedele explained that while Nigeria produces approximately 1.8 million barrels of crude daily, the volume available to the Federal Government is significantly lower due to production-sharing contracts, joint ventures, royalties, and production costs. He noted that the government cannot currently provide the full volume requested by the refinery, which may necessitate continued crude imports to meet specific processing needs and optimal product mixes.

The minister clarified that the refinery’s need for imports is partly due to the technical requirement for different crude grades, noting that Nigerian sweet crude may not be the most optimal input for all of the plant's processing requirements. The government aims to increase domestic supply as production ramps up and more barrels are freed from existing commitments.