NNPCL Increases Crude Supply to Dangote Refinery with 10 Cargoes in March

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) supplied 10 crude oil cargoes to the Dangote Refinery in March, reflecting a renewed effort to boost operations at Africa’s largest oil processing facility.

President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, disclosed this during a media briefing on Monday, African Energy Pulse reports.

Dangote stated that six of the cargoes were paid for in naira, while four were denominated in dollars.

The increased supply comes as Nigeria intensifies efforts to strengthen domestic fuel availability following disruptions to global supply chains triggered by the US-Israel conflict with Iran.

At full capacity, the Dangote Refinery is expected to meet Nigeria’s domestic fuel demand and still have surplus for export. However, the 10 cargoes delivered in March fall short of the 19 cargoes required monthly for optimal operations.

Findings indicate that the refinery had been receiving an average of five cargoes per month since October 2024, when the NNPCL entered into an agreement with the Dangote Group to supply crude oil in exchange for naira payments.

Despite the improvement in supply from the NNPC, Dangote expressed concern over limited contributions from international oil companies operating in Nigeria.

He noted that many of the firms prefer selling crude to international traders, forcing the refinery to repurchase the same supplies at higher costs.

Dangote warned that the increased cost of crude procurement could have a direct impact on the price of refined petroleum products.

“The higher we pay, the higher the cost of petroleum products will be, because we have to pass on the cost,” he said.