NNPC increases Dangote refinery crude oil supply to 10 cargoes

The supply of crude oil to Dangote Petroleum Refinery from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) doubled in March, boosting prospects for improved fuel availability.  

This was revealed during a visit to the industrial complex in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos, where Aliko Dangote, President and Chief Executive of Dangote Industries Limited, speaking with the deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mrs. Amina Mohammed, revealed the information.

Talking about feedstock supply, Dangote appreciated NNPC for the increased supply of crude oil in March to the refinery. He disclosed that the volumes have increased to 10 cargoes, six supplied in naira and four in dollars, to support fuel availability in the country, according to a statement released by the Refinery.

“Last month, they gave us six cargoes for naira and four cargoes for dollars,” he said.

Regardless of the slight improvement, Dangote pointed out that the supply is still not enough to keep the refinery running smoothly, falling short of the 19 cargoes needed. The refinery is still making up for this shortage by bringing in oil from the United States and other African countries.

He also shared his worries about how international oil companies working in Nigeria aren’t selling to the refinery. Dangote explained that these companies prefer selling their oil to traders, which means the refinery has to buy back the oil at higher prices. This situation, he said, has wider negative effects on the economy.

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Dangote added that the refinery is looking for more opportunities to buy oil at local prices, using local money, as part of its plan to keep fuel costs down and to boost long-term energy and food security across the continent.

For her part, Mohammed highlighted how important Dangote Industries Limited, especially its fertilizer arm, is in tackling Africa’s growing food security problems. She also urged for stronger global partnerships to help expand its positive impact.

Mohammed said the United Nations would prioritise amplifying scalable solutions capable of mitigating the continent’s food crisis, describing Dangote’s integrated industrial model as a critical pathway.

“I think the UN’s job here is to amplify and to put visibility on the possibilities of mitigating a food security crisis, and this is one of them,” she said. “I hope that when we go back, we can continue to engage partners and countries that should collaborate with Dangote Industries.”

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Her comments come during a period when worries about food shortages and supply chain problems across Africa are on the rise. These issues are being fueled by global economic pressures, the impact of climate-related events, and geopolitical tensions, especially in the Middle East.

Dangote mentioned that his company has increased exports of urea and Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) to African markets that have been hit by supply chain issues stemming from the ongoing crisis.

Recognizing that this situation is affecting more areas across the continent, Dangote stated that the company has stepped up shipments of fertilizer to help boost agricultural output and alleviate supply shortages.

“The challenges are many. One is of urea, which is fertiliser that we have. I think in the last couple of days we’ve been loading to mostly African countries, which we were not doing before,” he said. “And then now it’s to do with petroleum products, which we are now sending mainly to African countries.”

He added that the refinery has shipped about 17 cargoes of petrol to African countries to cushion the impact of the crisis, leveraging its 650,000 barrels per day capacity to stabilise supply across multiple regions.

“What I can do is assure Nigerians … and most of West Africa, Central Africa, and East Africa, we have the capacity to supply them,” Dangote said.