The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria has expressed concern over the inability of local refineries to access sufficient crude oil from within the country, warning that the situation is forcing Nigerian refiners to compete with international buyers for the nation’s crude and undermining the benefits of domestic refining.
The Director-General of MAN, Segun Ajayi-Kadir, made the remarks while reacting to reports that the Dangote Petroleum Refinery had purchased two cargoes of crude oil from the United Arab Emirates amid persistent domestic supply constraints.
Ajayi-Kadir described the development as evidence that domestic refiners were not getting adequate and reliable supplies of Nigerian crude, saying the situation was detrimental to the country’s industrialisation drive.
“That is obvious. The Dangote refinery’s decision to import crude oil from the United Arab Emirates amplifies the long-standing claims by domestic refiners that they are not receiving an adequate and reliable supply of local crude,” Ajayi-Kadir said.
He added, “The inability of our local refineries to access sufficient feedstock from Nigeria is distressing. For far too long, Nigerian refineries have had to compete with international buyers for our own (Nigerian) crude, often at international market prices plus additional logistics costs. This situation is not only economically inefficient, but it also erodes the advantage of local refining, which is to reduce import dependence, conserve foreign exchange, and create value addition within the country.”
