Dangote Refinery Limited has clarified its position on the supply of crude oil to its refinery by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, stating that it never accused the NNPCL of not supplying crude to its refinery.

The firm made the clarification on Thursday in a statement signed by Anthony Chiejina, the Dangote Group’s Chief, Branding and Communications Officer, and made available to newsmen.

The statement read thus: “Our attention has been drawn to media reports alleging that the Dangote Refinery has backtracked by acknowledging that NNPC supplied about 60% of the 50 million barrels we lifted.

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“To clarify, we have never accused NNPC of not supplying us with crude. Our concern has always been NUPRC’s reluctance to enforce the domestic crude supply obligation and ensure that we receive our full crude requirement from NNPC and the IOCs.

“For September, our requirement is 15 cargoes, of which NNPC allocated six. Despite appealing to NUPRC, we’ve been unable to secure the remaining cargoes. When we approached IOCs producing in Nigeria, they redirected us to their international trading arms or responded that their cargoes were committed.

“Consequently, we often purchase the same Nigerian crude from international traders at an additional $3-$4 premium per barrel which translates to $3-$4 million per cargo.

“We therefore still insist that we are unable to secure our full crude requirement from domestic production and urge NUPRC to fully enforce the domestic crude supply obligation as mandated by the PIA.”