Dangote Petroleum Refinery is set to import a cargo of Brazilian crude, Bloomberg reported on Friday.
It said this would add to the large number of overseas barrels of crude feedstock that the Nigerian firm was importing.
Indigenous crude oil refiners, including Dangote refinery and modular refineries, as well as local crude producers have repeatedly raised concerns about the low crude oil output from Nigeria.
Although the government, through the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, has been making efforts to tackle this, oil production from Nigeria has remained low.
This has made it tough for local refiners to get crude, as bulk of the oil produced in-country are exported due to earlier arranged contracts with International Oil Companies operating in Nigeria and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.
Bloomberg reported on Friday that traders with knowledge of the matter stated that Dangote refinery, which is still ramping up to full capacity, would receive a shipment of one million barrels of Tupi crude from Brazil for delivery in the second half of next month.
“The refinery, billed as pivotal in ending Nigeria’s dependence on foreign fuel, has already snapped up millions of barrels of American crude,” the report by the media organisation stated.
It stated that the purchases of non-Nigerian barrels likely reflect the most competitively priced, suitable cargoes.
The traders said the cargo was sold by Petrobras, a state-owned Brazilian multinational corporation.
Bloomberg said officials at the company, and one at Dangote, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Quoting data from the Latin American country’s commerce ministry, the publication said it was the first time that Brazil had exported oil to Nigeria.
Dangote refinery recently purchased five million barrels of US crude scheduled for delivery next month and in September.
It was reported in May this year that the refinery planned a purchase of 24 million barrels of crude from the US for over a year.
Modular refiners had also stated that crude importation would linger until Nigeria produces enough barrels to meet both domestic demand and exports.
Okechukwu, a journalist with Punch Newspapers, has 15 years experience covering Energy (Power and Petroleum), Finance, Agriculture, Environment, Humanitarian Services, Works and Housing, Trade and Investment, Capital Markets, Aviation and Transport, ICT, among others
