We don’t have enough crude oil for Dangote – Oyedele

Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, has revealed that Nigeria currently lacks sufficient crude oil to meet the daily demand of 700,000 barrels required by the Dangote Petroleum Refinery. He clarified that the nation has not yet achieved the production level necessary to fulfill both the refinery's full crude oil requirements and other domestic and export obligations.

"We (Nigeria) are still not at the point where we can give Dangote Refinery 700,000 barrels of crude oil; we don’t have enough to service Dangote Refinery," Oyedele stated during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme. This statement emerged as the country grapples with questions surrounding its crude oil production capacity and the supply of crude to the Dangote Refinery, Africa's largest single-train refinery with a nameplate capacity of 650,000 barrels per day.

The Minister’s remarks come alongside the Federal Government’s announcement of a 30-day petrol discount at NNPC filling stations, implemented in an attempt to offer temporary relief to motorists and fuel consumers amidst the high cost of petroleum products. The discount’s implementation has sparked debate, with opposition figures questioning its timing and sustainability, asserting that a short-term price reduction might not effectively resolve the underlying issues within the downstream petroleum sector.