As Nigeria’s refining capacity increases, the 450,000 barrels of crude oil allocated for local refineries is no longer enough.
This is as the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission revealed that the Dangote refinery, the Port Harcourt refinery, and six others would need 770,500 barrels for daily fuel production.
From data the NUPRC sourced from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, the country’s refining capacity is put at 974,500 barrels per day, taking a look at only functioning refineries.
“The Federal Executive Council has approved that the 450,000 barrels meant for domestic consumption be offered in Naira to Nigerian refineries, using the Dangote refinery as a pilot. The exchange rate will be fixed for the duration of this transaction,” Tinubu’s spokesman, Bayo Onanuga announced last year.
In October, the committee supervising the naira-for-crude deal commenced the sale of crude to only the Dangote refinery in naira, saying it would sell to only petrol-producing refineries.
However, with the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries coming on stream, more refineries would be considered for the naira-for-crude arrangement.
The NUPRC said 123.5 million barrels of crude would be needed by eight refineries in the first six months of 2025.
The refineries are: Dangote refinery, Port Harcourt refinery, Warri refinery, Kaduna refinery, Opac refinery, Waltersmith refinery, Duport Midstream Company Limited, Aradel refinery and Edo refinery.
According to the crude oil production forecast of producing oil companies and the refining requirement of functional refineries in Nigeria signed by the NUPRC Chief Executive, Gbenga Komolafe, the Dangote refinery is forecasted to need 550,000 barrels of a blend of Nigerian crude oil daily, 17.05 million barrels monthly, and 99.55 million barrels between January and June 2025.
Opac refinery requires 5,000bpd; Waltersmith needs 4,500bpd; Duport needs 2,000bpd while Edo refinery requires 1,000bpd.
Others are: Aradel refinery, 7,000bpd; Port Harcourt refinery, 60,000bpd; Warri refinery, 75,000bpd, and Kaduna refinery, 66,000bpd.
The PUNCH learned that the first phase of the naira crude sale would be for six months.
In April, the Federal Government would review the programme to ascertain its success or otherwise.