The Dangote Industries Limited (DIL) says the International Oil Companies (IOCs) operating in Nigeria have consistently frustrated the company’s requests for locally produced crude as feedstock for its refining process.

The Vice President, Oil and Gas, Dangote Industries Limited, DVG Edwin, made this known in a statement on Wednesday, July 17, 2024.

Edwin said when cargoes are offered to the oil company by the trading arms, it is sometimes at $2-$4 (per barrel) premium above the official price set by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).

Edwin, who urged the regulatory commission to take a second look at the issue of pricing, stated: “As an example, we paid $96.23 per barrel for a cargo of Bonga crude grade in April (excluding transport). The price consisted of $90.15 dated brent price + $5.08 NNPC premium (NSP) + $1 trader premium.

“In the same month we were able to buy WTI at a dated brent price of $90.15 + $0.93 trader premium including transport. When NNPC subsequently lowered its premium based on market feedback that it was too high, some traders then started asking us for a premium of up to $4m over and above the NSP for a cargo of Bonny Light.

“Data on platforms like Platts and Argus shows that the price offered to us is way higher than the market prices tracked by these platforms. We recently had to escalate this to NUPRC.”

Edwin’s response came against a statement by the Chief Executive Officer of NUPRC, Engr. Gbenga Komolafe, who in an interview on ARISE TV said: “It is ‘erroneous’ for one to say that the International Oil Companies (IOCs) are refusing to make crude oil available to domestic refiners, as the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) has a stipulation that calls for a willing buyer-willing seller relationship.”

Commending NUPRC for its interventions in Dangote’s crude supply requests, Edwin added: “The NUPRC has been very supportive to the Dangote Refinery as they have intervened several times to help us secure crude supply.

Dangote accuses IOCs of frustrating refinery’s survival

“However, the NUPRC Chief Executive was probably misquoted by some people hence his statement that IOCs did not refuse to sell to us. To set the records straight, we would like to recap the facts below.

“Aside from Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), to date, we have only purchased crude directly from only one other local producer (Sapetro). All other producers refer us to their international trading arms.

“These international trading arms are non-value adding middlemen who sit abroad and earn margin from crude being produced and consumed in Nigeria. They are not bound by Nigerian laws and do not pay tax in Nigeria on the unjustifiable margin they earn.

“The trading arm of one of the IOCs refused to sell to us directly and asked us to find a middleman who will buy from them and then sell to us at a margin. We dialogued with them for nine months and in the end, we had to escalate to NUPRC who helped resolve the situation.”

He further stated: “When we entered the market to purchase our crude requirement for August, the international trading arms told us that they had entered their Nigerian cargoes into a Pertamina (the Indonesia National Oil Company) tender, and we had to wait for the tender to conclude to see what is still available.

“This is not the first time. In many cases, particular crude grades we wish to buy are sold to Indian or other Asian refiners even before the cargoes are formally allocated in the curtailment meeting chaired by NUPRC.

“However, we would like to urge NUPRC to take a second look at the issue of pricing. NUPRC has severally asserted that transactions should be on willing seller/willing buyer basis. The challenge however is that market liquidity (many sellers / many buyers in the market at the same time) is a precondition for this. Where a refinery needs a particular crude grade loading at a particular time then there is typically only one participant on either side of the market.

“It is to avoid the problem of price gouging in an illiquid market that the domestic gas supply obligation specifies volume obligation per producer and a formula for transparently determining pricing. The fact that the domestic crude supply obligation as defined in the PIA has gaps is no reason for wisdom not to prevail.”

The Star