Following recent imports from the United States and Brazil, Aliko Dangote, the chairman of Dangote Refinery, announced that his company will source crude oil from other African oil-producing countries.
During a Saturday tour of his refinery in Lagos, Dangote disclosed this information to reporters in a statement.
The business tycoon claims that in the upcoming months, feedstock from the US and Brazil would be received by the refinery.
He stated that talks are in progress to obtain additional petroleum from oil-producing African states such as Senegal, Libya, and Angola.
“We will start importing crude oil from African countries. When we get to those countries, we’ll start negotiating with them. We’ll start bringing in from there.
“We have just bought from US and Brazil. So I think by next month, we’ll expand the scope to most of African countries.
“If we availability in Nigeria, we won’t have to turn to these other countries,” Dangote said.
When asked about the timeline for sourcing crude from these African countries, Dangote stated that it could begin as soon as next month.
“Very soon. I think by next month. You know crude, you have to book two months in advance. So, I’ll say October we’ll be bringing in from these African countries,” Dangote responded.
According to recent reports, Dangote refinery secured 6 million barrel crude oil from US, which is expected to reach the $19 billion facility by August.
In addition, the mega refinery will also receive about 5 million barrel of crude oil from US by September, data from Bloomberg show.
Accordingly, Dangote is also sourcing crude from the South American country, Brazil, in the coming months to ramp up production as it sets to commence the supply of petrol to the market this month.
The leadership of Dangote has vehemently lamented the unavailability of crude in Nigeria, forcing the oil facility to seek alternatives from other countries.
IOCs unable to supply local refineries
Despite being a leading oil producer, Nigeria still struggles to meet its OPEC quota as well as supply local refineries in the country.
Some local refineries, including Dangote, have accused International Oil Companies (IOCs) of refusal to meet their demands, alleging that these IOCs prefer to sell the crude abroad.
In response, the regulatory body of oil in Nigeria, NUPRC, has insisted that the IOCs meet local demands first, before exporting to other African countries.
