International Oil Companies (IOCs) in Nigeria are frustrating the operation of Dangote Oil Refinery by deliberately inflating the price of local crude and limiting supply to the refinery.
Devakumar Edwin, Vice President, Oil and Gas at Dangote Industries Limited (DIL), made the accusations recently at a one-day training programme organised by the Dangote Group for Energy Editors.
Edwin said the IOCs are forcing the local refinery to buy crude feed from locations outside Nigeria even as far as the United States, by willfully inflating the price of local premium crude above the international market rate.
The DIL vice president also decried the connivance of the sector regulator, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) for continuing to grant licences for importation of banned dirty diesel and jet fuel despite availability of the products locally.
He highlighted that Dangote Refinery deserves governments backing for being the first and only one to have completed the construction of the local refinery facility out of the 25 companies that got licences from the Federal Government.
” It is good to note that from the start of production, more than 3.5 billion litres, which represents 90 per cent of our production, have been exported.
“We are calling on the Federal Government and regulators to give us the necessary support in order to create jobs and prosperity for the nation.” Edwin stated.
He commended the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) for their efforts to allocate crude to the facility but condemned the IOCs for deliberately doing the contrary.
Recall that the NUPRC, recently met with crude oil producers and refineries owners in Nigeria to facilitate compliance to Domestic Crude Oil Supply Obligations (DCSO), in line with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
Edwin observed that by their actions, the IOCs are only interested in the status quo where they keep shipping Nigeria’s cheap crude to their home countries and bringing in the expensive refined products to keep Nigeria dependent on their country.
” It is the same strategy the multinationals have been adopting in every commodity, making Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa to be facing unemployment and poverty, while they create wealth for themselves at our expense.
“This is exploitation – pure and simple. Unfortunately, the country is also playing into their hands by continuing to issue import licences, at the expense of our economy and at the cost of the health of the Nigerians who are exposed to carcinogenic products.” He argued.
Edwin urged the Nigerian Government and legislature to intervene with speedy implementation of the PIA to the nation’s interest.
He stated, “Recently, the government of Ghana, through legislation has banned the importation of highly contaminated diesel and PMS into their county.
“It is regrettable that, in Nigeria, import licences are granted despite knowing that we have the capacity to produce nearly double the amount of products needed in Nigeria and even export the surplus.”
The creation of Dangote Refinery was expected to facilitate availability of petroleum products in Nigeria to meet local demand and save the country billions of dollars in foreign exchange used for import of the products annually.
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