The Dangote Petroleum Refinery has challenged a claim by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) that it rejected about 15.5 million barrels of crude oil offered by producers in the second quarter of 2026.
The disagreement followed the release of the NUPRC’s Q2 2026 report on compliance with Nigeria’s Domestic Crude Supply Obligation (DCSO), which requires oil producers to make crude available to local refineries.
According to the regulator, oil producers offered 68.1 million barrels of crude to the Dangote refinery between April and June. However, the refinery reportedly accepted 52.6 million barrels, representing about 78 per cent of the volume offered.
The NUPRC said the refinery had indicated a requirement of 63 million barrels for the quarter. Despite this, producers offered about 5.1 million barrels more than the refinery’s stated requirement.
The commission said the figures showed that the refinery did not take all the crude made available to it during the period.
However, Dangote Industries has questioned the accuracy of the figures and asked the regulator to provide detailed records showing when and how the alleged crude volumes were offered and rejected.
Anthony Chiejina, spokesperson for the Dangote Group, said the refinery would review the figures once the NUPRC provided the relevant statistics.
The dispute comes as Nigeria continues efforts to increase domestic refining and reduce its dependence on imported petroleum products. The DCSO is one of the measures introduced under the Petroleum Industry Act to ensure that local refineries have access to crude produced within the country.
Despite the disagreement involving the Dangote refinery, the NUPRC reported strong overall compliance with the domestic crude supply programme during the quarter.
The regulator said 53.7 million barrels of crude oil and condensate were supplied to local refineries between April and June. This represented an overall performance rate of 97.4 per cent.
Monthly figures, however, varied significantly.
In April, producers were allocated 18.13 million barrels but offered 19.31 million barrels to domestic refiners. Actual supply reached 20.88 million barrels, representing 114.9 per cent performance.
In May, producers were allocated 18.78 million barrels and offered 23.19 million barrels to local refiners. Actual supply dropped to 14.23 million barrels, giving a compliance rate of 75.8 per cent.
June recorded another strong performance. Producers were allocated 18.17 million barrels and offered 26.84 million barrels to refiners. Domestic refiners eventually received 18.61 million barrels, representing 102.4 per cent performance.
The NUPRC attributed the improvement in domestic crude supply to rising local oil production and the signing of long-term crude supply agreements between producers and domestic refiners.
The commission also noted that the DCSO operates under a “willing buyer, willing seller” arrangement, meaning that crude offered by producers does not automatically guarantee a completed transaction.
The regulator said it would continue enforcing the DCSO as part of efforts to strengthen Nigeria’s energy security and support the growth of domestic refining.
For now, the major point of contention remains the 15.5 million barrels reportedly offered to but not accepted by the Dangote refinery. The refinery’s request for supporting data means the figures could face further scrutiny as both sides seek to clarify what happened during the second quarter.
