The President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has blamed the low supply of domestic crude oil for Dangote Refinery’s increasing reliance on crude imports from the United States of America.
Dangote disclosed this in a statement by the firm on Thursday when the Coordinator of the One-Stop-Shop for Naira-for-Crude and her delegation visited the $20bn Dangote Refinery.
He lauded the Naira-for-Crude and its impact on petroleum price stability since the initiative kicked off.
According to him, the initiative led to a reduction in petroleum product prices, eased pressure on the dollar, and ensured the stability of the local currency.
Dangote, however, lamented the shortage of domestic crude supply.
“However, he noted that due to a shortage of domestic crude oil, the refinery has increasingly relied on imports from the United States to meet its needs in recent months,” the statement partly reads.
On her part, Coordinator of the OSS Technical Committee, Ogbonna, hailed the $20bn facility as a symbol of the industrial revolution, driving Nigeria’s economic emancipation.
“This refinery touches all our lives. There’s scarcely any sector unaffected,” she stated.
Meanwhile, the company had continued to struggle with domestic crude availability to ramp up production.
According to Bloomberg, in this year alone, West Texas Intermediate US crude futures have accounted for a third purchase of Dangote Refinery.
The National Bureau of Statistics’ latest trade data showed that crude oil import is the third most imported commodity, worth N1.19 trillion in the first quarter of 2025 alone.
Further data showed that the refinery is expected to receive a total of 17.65 million barrels of crude oil between April and July 2025.
