Subsidy removal exposed Nigeria’s crude shortfall — Oyedele

Finance Minister Taiwo Oyedele stated that Nigeria's crude oil production challenges persist despite the removal of the petrol subsidy in 2023. The country does not have sufficient freely available crude oil to supply the Dangote Refinery and other local refiners, due to production costs, royalties, and contractual obligations. Oyedele emphasized that Nigeria produces about 1.8 million barrels of crude oil daily, but only a portion of that belongs to the government due to production-sharing contracts and joint ventures with oil companies.

The remaining crude is further reduced by production costs and royalties before allocation. He highlighted that the government's share is consistently insufficient to meet domestic demand, with less than 700,000 barrels of crude oil currently available for allocation to buyers like the Dangote Refinery.