The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) will supply the new 650,000 barrel-per-day Dangote oil refinery with up to six million barrels of crude oil in December, to be used in test runs, three industry sources with knowledge of the matter, have told Reuters.
On Wednesday, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) summoned the producers to sensitise them on the need to comply with their domestic supply obligations to local refineries in line with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
One of the sources, an NNPC official, who declined to be named, specified six cargoes, or 200,000 bpd, would be supplied in December, as part of a one-year deal, adding that volumes in future months would be supplied “based on mutual agreement and availability”.
The other sources said about 4-5 cargoes, or at least 130,000 bpd, were planned. A Dangote Group official, who did not wish to be named, said “some of the agreements have confidentiality clauses” without elaborating when asked about the NNPC supply deal. The NNPC has a 20 per cent stake in the refinery.
The refinery began the commissioning process in May this year after running years behind schedule at a cost of $19 billion, above initial estimates of $12-14 billion.
Commissioning includes testing the different units that make products from petrol to diesel and making sure they respond to the control panels, the Reuters report said.
The integrated refinery and petrochemical project is expected to generate thousands of direct and indirect jobs, while its output is expected to be more than enough to meet Nigeria’s fuel demands and turn Africa’s largest crude producer into an exporter of refined crude.
It was learnt that the development is coming as plans are being concluded for the signing of a Sales And Purchase Agreement (SPA) between the national oil company and the refinery. The formalisation of the agreement is scheduled to take place in the coming weeks.
The deal will be on a purely commercial basis and without any recourse to discount, or selling at rock-bottom prices, it was learnt.
Dangote Refinery Begins Test Run
Posted by layo on 03 Nov 2023 /
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