Dangote Refinery has restarted its crude oil purchases from the United States to enhance its refining capacity and production levels.
A Bloomberg report released on Wednesday indicates that a shipment containing two million barrels of WTI Midland crude from Chevron Corp. is scheduled for delivery to the refinery next month.
This new acquisition follows a three-month pause in importing crude from abroad, during which the refinery concentrated on sourcing oil domestically.
This recent development may suggest that the federal government’s naira-for-crude agreement has encountered delays or that the refinery is not receiving sufficient crude supplies from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.
After a three-month break, Dangote Refinery has secured its first shipment of US oil as it continues to increase production.
“The plant has procured approximately two million barrels of WTI Midland crude from Chevron Corp.,” the report stated.
According to the publication, Chevron has arranged for the supertanker Azure Nova to load crude from the US Gulf around December 5 for delivery to Dangote.
It is worth noting that on October 5, 2024, the Nigerian government announced the naira-for-crude sale agreement with Dangote Refinery. However, economist Kelvin Emmanuel recently pointed out that Dangote Refinery continues to purchase crude oil from the Nigerian government in US dollars.
