Dangote Petroleum Refinery has said commercial pricing, rather than unwillingness to buy Nigerian crude, was behind its decision not to accept part of the supply offered to it during the second quarter of 2026.
The clarification followed data from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission indicating that the refinery accepted 52.6 million barrels out of 68.1 million barrels offered during the period.
The refinery said it remained committed to sourcing Nigerian crude and supporting the Domestic Crude Supply Obligation framework.
Dangote Industries Group Vice President for Oil, Gas and Fertiliser, Devakumar Edwin, said the main issue was whether crude was genuinely available at commercially competitive prices.
He said some domestic supply arrangements involved premiums and additional transaction costs that pushed prices above international benchmarks.
According to the company, a significant portion of crude allocated under the framework had to be sourced through international oil companies and third parties rather than directly from local producers.
Dangote said those additional layers could make domestic crude more expensive than alternative international supply.
The company argued that excessive feedstock costs would eventually raise the cost of refined petroleum products in Nigeria.
It said the refinery was ready to purchase more local crude whenever sufficient volumes were available at competitive market prices.
