How NUPRC is frustrating Dangote Refinery, elevating contract ahead of PIA Act

 

LEKKI, Lagos – The Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission, NUPRC is an unpatriotic government agency.

The agency has elevated contracts with the International Oil Organisations, IOC up and above the Petroleum Industry Act, PIA, a Nigerian law enacted to facilitate refining of petroleum products by indigenous companies operating in Nigeria.

NUPRC has now told Dangote that it cannot enforce the PIA Act to the detriment of Nigerians and would rather service contracts to IOC even when the contracts violate indigenous laws.

NUPRC wants Dangote Refinery and others to continue to buy crude oil from international middlemen to the detriment of Nigerians.

In a statement, Anthony Chiejina, Group Chief Branding and Communications Officer of Dangote said his company is in receipt of a statement from NUPRC that it has allocated 29 million barrels of crude oil to Dangote Refinery and Petrochemicals but that the company is yet to receive the cargoes.

“Aside from the term supply we bilaterally negotiated with NNPC, so far NUPRC has only facilitated the purchase of one crude cargo from a domestic producer.

“The rest of the cargoes we have processed were purchased from international traders”, Chiejina said in the statement.

He said that all that the company is asking is for refineries in Nigeria to buy crude directly from the companies that produce it in Nigeria, rather than from international middlemen.

“This is specified in the PIA Act”, the chief image maker of the company added.

According to him, NUPRC has unfortunately admitted in it’s own statement that ” they will be unable to enforce the domestic crude supply obligation as specified in the PIA, citing sanctity of contract as an excuse.