The Lagos State Chamber of Commerce and Industry has blamed oil theft and vandalization of pipelines for the poor supply of crude to Dangote Refinery and other local refineries.
The Director General LCCI, Dr Chinyere Almona disclosed this
in a recent statement while reacting to poor crude oil supply to local
refineries in Nigeria.
Recall that in a recent interview with CNN, the Chairman of
Dangote Refinery, Aliko Dangote revealed that IOCs are struggling to supply
local refineries crude.
According to him, the IOCs preferred exporting the product
to earn foreign exchange.
“The NNPC is doing its best, but some of the IOCs, are
struggling to give us crude. Everybody is used to exporting, and nobody wants
to stop,” Dangote told CNN recently.
Reacting to the development, Almona said the issue of oil
theft, and pipeline vandalism were contributory factors hindering crude supply
to local refineries.
“The issue of oil theft, pipeline vandalism, and policy
concerns, among others, are all contributory factors.
“The issue of IOCs supplying crude oil to Dangote Refinery
is a subject of our ongoing conversations around what information is in the
public, and our preliminary engagements with some parties.
“Based on public information from Dangote Group, it has been
confirmed that some IOCs have been supplying crude to the Dangote refinery.
“The efforts of the government in ensuring crude supply to
Nigerian refineries, including Dangote Refinery, are reasonable.
“However, we call on the Nigerian Petroleum Corporation
Company Limited, NNPCL and Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission,
NUPRC to do more in granting a soft landing to the new refinery if there are
any issues around pricing and supply contracts between the two parties,” the
Director General said.
Recall that despite Nigeria producing 1,281,478 barrels of
crude oil daily (excluding condensates) Dangote Refinery had looked to the US
for crude supply.
Experts familiar with the industry had blamed a lack of
crude supply for the slow commencement of fuel production in Dangote refinery.
In January 2024, Dangote Refinery commenced production of
diesel and aviation fuel months after its commissioning in May last year.
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