Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, has said Nigeria lacks sufficient unallocated crude oil to fully supply the Dangote Refinery and other domestic refiners.
Oyedele disclosed this on Friday during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today, saying contractual obligations, production costs, and royalties reduce the volume of crude available to the Federal Government.
He said Nigeria produces about 1.8 million barrels of crude oil daily but has less than 700,000 barrels available for allocation to buyers, including the Dangote Refinery, which requires about 700,000 barrels daily to meet its processing needs.
“Dangote imports crude,” Oyedele said, adding that the government’s naira-for-crude arrangement had helped stabilize supply but had not provided enough volumes to meet demand.
He expressed optimism that increased domestic production would enable Nigeria to supply local refineries adequately, with the long-term goal of refining all crude produced in the country and exporting finished petroleum products.
His comments come amid renewed calls for government intervention to ease rising petrol prices and support domestic refining following the removal of fuel subsidy in 2023. They also follow the Federal Government’s announcement of a 30-day petrol discount at Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited retail outlets.
Oyedele has maintained that the temporary discount is not a return to fuel subsidy, saying it is being funded through NNPC Retail’s profit margin rather than public funds.
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