The managing director (MD) of the Dangote Refinery, David Bird, said the refinery suffers costs from 47 government agencies, adding some kind of fees to the final pump price of petrol in the country. 

Addressing journalists during a press conference in Lagos on Monday, Bird stated that the Federal Government of Nigeria continues to regard the refinery as the customer of last resort, stating that the highest-quality crude oil is sold to international buyers.

Urging Nigeria to focus on local refining amid the current extreme volatility and uncertainty in the global crude oil market, the refinery’s MD called on the government to prioritise supplying specific crude grades to the local industry.

“All countries are being extremely self-interested. China has prohibited exports. Actually, many, many nations with a refining industry, such as Thailand and Vietnam, have banned exports as well,” he said.

“Several countries with strategic petroleum reserves are currently releasing their strategic reserves. But bear in mind, they won’t be offering them on the open international market. They will be releasing those strategic reserves to make sure that their domestic industry gets preference.

That is exactly the self-interested approach the Nigerian government needs to adopt immediately. That means making sure that the domestic refining industry in the country gets access to crude. Abundant access to the right grades of crude. Prioritise the domestic industry.”

“I would also advocate that all government agencies examine how they can help reduce costs throughout the value chain. We still believe there is a significant regulatory burden imposed at every stage of our processing, whether from regulators, the NPA, NIMASA, or others. We have 47 different government agencies that we deal with, and we suffer costs from.

I think there’s a role for every government body to really look hard at what their contribution is to take costs out of the supply chain. Most importantly, the role of Nigeria is to prioritise the welfare of its citizens, which means ensuring a reliable and sufficient supply of crude oil for the country's domestic industry.