Dangote Refinery indicts IOCs over sabotage

Management of Dangote Industries Limited, DIL, operators of Dangote Refinery and Petrochemicals, has indicted the International Oil Companies (IOCs) in Nigeria of frustrating the Dangote Oil Refinery and Petrochemicals.

The president, DIL, Devakumar Edwin, who disclosed this, said the IOCs are deliberately frustrating the refinery’s efforts to buy local crude by jerking up high premium price above the market price.

Consequently, the refinery said alleged that the IOCs are forcing it to import crude from countries as far as United States, with its attendant high costs.

Edwin, who spoke to Energy Editors at a one-day training programme, organised by the Dangote Group, also lamented the activity of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), in granting licences, indiscriminately to marketers to import dirty refined products into the country.

According to him, “The Federal Government issued 25 licences to build refinery and we are the only one that delivered on promise. In effect, we deserve every support from the 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.”

However, he said, “While the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) are trying their best to b. allocate the crude for us, the IOCs are deliberately and willfully frustrating our efforts to buy the local crude.”

The NUPRC recently met with oil producers as well as refineries owners in Nigeria, in a bid to ensure full adherence to Domestic Crude Oil Supply Obligations (DCSO), as enunciated under section 109(2) of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA). It seems that the IOCs’ objective is to ensure that our Petroleum Refinery fails.

“It is either they are deliberately asking for ridiculous/humongous premium or, they simply state that crude is not available. At some point, we paid $6 over and above the market price,” he said.