The Dangote Refinery in Lagos has started importing crude oil from the United States again after a break of three months. This is happening as the refinery increases its production at its petrochemical plant, which can process 650,000 barrels of oil per day. The refinery recently bought about two million barrels of WTI Midland crude oil from Chevron Corp. The oil will be delivered in December on the supertanker Azure Nova.
Earlier this year, the refinery routinely imported crude oil from the U.S. and used local supplies too. But in August, they cut back on imports after making a deal with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Limited.
This deal means NNPC will send up to 400,000 barrels of Nigerian crude oil to the refinery every day, and the refinery will pay for it in naira, the local currency.
Even with this setup, Dangote Refinery has had trouble getting Nigerian crude oil. Edwin Devakumar, the refinery’s vice president, says that some international oil companies (IOCs) are inflating crude prices, complicating local procurement.
Additionally, the deals the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) already has with foreign traders might stop it from fully supplying the refinery’s needs.
