NNPC will supply crude oil to Dangote’s Refinery

Nigeria’s state oil company plans to partner with the huge private refinery under construction on the shores of Lagos to turn the oil-producing nation into a fuel supplier for the region, the new head said in an interview with Reuters.

The aim to ink a contract with the Dangote refinery, with a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day (bpd), is part of new managing director Mele Kolo Kyari’s blueprint for transforming the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) into a world-class state oil company.

The refinery, being built by billionaire Aliko Dangote, is set to be Africa’s largest. Kyari, who also intends to push for more transparency, said NNPC wants to be a “supplier of first resort” for the Dangote refinery. “Ultimately, it will be a contract to supply crude,” he said.

NNPC is also pressing ahead with plans to revamp its own ailing refineries – despite a nameplate capacity at Dangote refinery that is well above Nigeria’s consumption. “It’s worth it,” Kyari said of NNPC’s refinery overhauls, adding that Nigeria could become a fuel supplier to the entire region. “Africa needs refining capacity,” he said.

After the revamps, he said that third parties would maintain and operate the state-owned refineries to ensure reliable production. The refineries have processed oil only sporadically for years, leaving the nation to import virtually all its own fuel needs.

Source: Reuters