The Dangote Refinery, owned by Aliko Dangote, has accused international oil companies (IOCs) operating in Nigeria of sabotaging its operations by not providing it with crude oil produced in the country. The refinery, which has a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, has called on the federal government to protect it from collapse. The IOCs are allegedly selling crude oil at high premium prices, forcing the refinery to import crude from other countries at higher costs. The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has also been accused of granting import licenses to marketers to import dirty refined products into the country. The Dangote Refinery is the only one out of 25 licensed refineries that has delivered on its promise. Concerned citizens, civil society organizations, Nigerian students, social media users, analysts, and local crude oil refiners have called on the government to protect the refinery against sabotage. The refinery has been in operation since January 2024 and has the capacity to meet 100% of Nigeria's consumption needs for refined products and has a surplus for export.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) has stated that local refining of petroleum products would not necessarily result in lower prices. This comes after the Dangote Refinery successfully reduced the price of diesel and aviation fuel upon starting production. The NNPCL had locked in thousands of barrels of crude at the Port Harcourt Refinery, while the Dangote Refinery had to import crude oil from the United States. Devakumar Edwin, President of Oil and Gas at Dangote Industries Limited, accused International Oil Companies (IOCs) of attempting to cripple the operations of the Dangote Refinery. Edwin also blamed the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) for granting licenses to import what he referred to as 'dirty refined products' into the country [77491089].
In an opinion piece, it is argued that President Bola Tinubu needs to address the oil cabal in order to reduce Nigeria's dependence on imported fuel and alleviate inflationary trends and pressure on the Naira. The article also calls for a thorough examination of the operations of the NMDPRA [77491089].