Devakumar Edwin, the Vice President, of Oil and Gas, at Dangote Industries Limited, has accused International Oil Companies of obstructing the viability of the new Dangote Refinery and Petrochemicals in Nigeria.
Edwin said the IOCs were “consciously and deliberately sabotaging” the refinery’s efforts to buy local crude by pushing prices above market rates, thereby forcing the refinery to import crude from far-flung countries such as the United States, where it is unable to meet the high costs.
Edwin, who spoke with journalists at a one-day training program organised by the Dangote Group on Friday, also accused the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority of indiscriminately issuing licenses to operators who import dirty refined products into the country.
According to Edwin, the Federal Government issued 25 licenses to build refineries in Nigeria but only the Dangote Group has kept its promise. In appealing for government support, the vice president noted that the refinery had exported more than 3.5 billion litres of diesel and aviation fuel to Europe in the past few months. He said exported fuel accounts for about 90 percent of production.
“The Federal Government issued 25 permits to build refineries but we are the only ones who have kept that promise. In fact, we deserve all the support from the government. I am happy to say that since we started production, over 3.5 billion litres, which is 90 percent of our production, have been exported. We appeal to the Federal Government and regulators to give us the support we need to create jobs and prosperity for the country,” Edwin said.
He added that while the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission is trying its best to channel crude oil to the 650,000-tonne capacity refinery, “IOC is deliberately and recklessly sabotaging our efforts to buy local crude oil.”
He said IOC had at times forced the refinery to pay $6 above market price, forcing the company to cut production and import crude oil at higher prices from countries such as the United States.
He said; “Recall that NUPRC recently met with Nigerian crude oil producers and refinery owners to ensure full compliance with domestic supply obligations as enshrined in Section 109(2) of the Petroleum Industry Act. It appears that the objective of IOC is to bankrupt our refineries.
They either deliberately charge ridiculous/enormous markups or simply claim that there is no crude oil available. At one point, they were paying $6 above market price.” This has forced us to cut production and import crude oil from far away USA, increasing our cost of production.
“The objective of the IOCs seems to be to ensure that Nigeria remains a country that exports crude oil and imports refined petroleum products. They (IOCs) are keen to export raw materials, jobs, and wealth to their mother countries. Making us dependent on imported products by helping their countries increase their gross domestic product and supplying Nigeria with expensive refined products is the same strategy as multinational corporations use to go after every raw material, thereby leaving Nigeria and sub-Saharan Africa facing unemployment, poverty, and destitution while building their own wealth at our expense.”
