REPS TO PROBE NON-ALLOCATION OF CRUDE TO DANGOTE REFINERY

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On Thursday, July 18, the House of Representatives decided to look into claims that the Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission and foreign oil companies doing business there conspired to prevent the Dangote Refinery from receiving crude oil, which hindered the refinery’s ability to operate.

The House also decided to look into the assertion made by Alhaji Aliko Dangote, the chairman of the Dangote Refinery, that Nigeria, via the NNPCL, only owns 7% of the refinery’s shares, as opposed to the 20% that Nigerians are aware of.

This came after the Minority Leader, Hon. Kingsley Chinda, sponsored a motion of urgent public importance regarding an alleged conspiracy by international oil companies to thwart the Dangote refinery’s ability to operate and survive, as well as the precise percentage of the federal government’s ownership in the refinery.

The Minister of Petroleum Resources and the NUPRC were urged by the House to back the Dangote refinery and see to it that it succeeds.

Hon. Chinda highlighted the Dangote Oil Refinery’s effective completion and startup of operations, which can lower the importation of petroleum products.

Despite being a significant producer and exporter of oil, he claimed that Nigeria has been importing refined petroleum products from other nations for a number of years, which has hurt the nation’s economy.

According to him, the Dangote Refinery was built to help Nigerians with their requirements for petroleum products and the associated sufferings they encountered. It has a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day (bpd), making it the largest refinery in Africa and the seventh largest in the world.

He remembered that the Dangote Refinery’s management had recently accused foreign oil corporations (IOCs) doing business in the nation of conspiring to obstruct the refinery’s efficient operations.

He went on to say that the purported conspiracy against the Dangote refinery was related to the IOCs’ attempts to purposefully hinder the refinery’s ability to purchase local crude oil by manipulating and jacking up the premium price above the going rate. This forced the refinery to reduce output and import crude oil at extremely high costs from other nations, like the United States, raising the cost of production locally and driving up the price of the finished product.

He disclosed that data obtained from the Dangote Refinery’s management suggested that, despite the Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission’s (NUPRC) best efforts to supply oil to the refinery, the 1OCs were purposefully impeding the refinery’s attempts to purchase local crude.

He said: “The management of Dangote Refinery alleged that the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) was still granting import licenses, indiscriminately, to marketers to import sub-standard refined petroleum products into the country.

“Whilst the IOCs are keen on exporting raw materials to their home countries and thus create wealth and employment for their countries, thereby adding to their GDP, Nigeria continues to be a dumping ground for refined products, thus making us dependent on imported petroleum products”.

He voiced concerns about the IOC strategy and plan, claiming that it could lead to more unemployment and poverty in Nigeria.

The Federal government, pertinent MDAs, such as the NUPRC and the NMDPRA, important stakeholders, and well-meaning Nigerians, he said, urgently needed to assist the success of the Dangote Refinery.

While the Federal Government of Nigeria subscribed for 20% of the Dangote Refinery’s shares, Hon. Chinda voiced worry that Nigeria was unable to fulfill its promise and that it currently holds 7.2% of the refinery through NNPC Ltd..

He said: “Here is an urgent need to look into these allegations by Dangote Refinery and end/break all forms of dominance and monopoly of the petroleum sector by the IOCs and confirm the quantum of Federal government interest in the refinery.

“Unless urgent steps are taken by the Federal government, as well as investigate this matter and call the IOCs to order, Dangote Refinery and its operations would be prematurely pushed/forced out of business and this would not be good for us as a people.”

He also expressed concern that NNPC LTD is said to be unable to subscribe for the 20% shares.