The Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Mrs Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, says crude oil producers offered 182 million barrels to domestic refiners between January and August, with 112 million barrels already transacted.
Speaking at the third Nigeria Oil Refining Summit in Lagos, Mrs. Eyesan stated that the 112 million barrels represent 61.4 per cent of the crude offered, leaving a gap of 70 million barrels between offers and completed transactions.
Eyesan, who was represented by Mr. Boma Atiyegoba, Deputy Director, NUPRC, said that producers offered 182 million barrels against domestic refiners’ declared requirement of 154.6 million barrels during the period.
She said that the volume offered was 118 per cent of the refiners’ declared requirement.
According to her, the gap between crude offers and completed transactions does not indicate a failure by either producers or refiners.
“This gap is not a failure on either side. It is a shared commercial challenge,” she said.
Eyesan attributed the incomplete transactions to issues including pricing, payment security, crude grade and delivery timing.
She explained that producers were concerned about payment security, off-take reliability and existing export commitments, while refiners were concerned about crude availability, delivery timing and pricing.
“The Commission is listening, and we are active,” she said.
Eyesan said that NUPRC would improve visibility of refinery demand and producer availability, while strengthening monitoring and compliance.
She added that the commission would also deepen engagement with stakeholders and enforce domestic supply obligations where necessary.
The NUPRC chief executive said that the commission had completed stakeholder consultations on a proposed domestic crude swap arrangement.
“Under the arrangement, producers close to export terminals could swap their domestic supply obligations with producers whose crude was closer to local refineries,” she said, adding that the mechanism would reduce logistics costs and delivery times, while improving crude availability and compliance.
Eyesan said that the NUPRC was also accelerating field development and efforts to restore shut-in wells and marginal assets.
She stressed that increased production was critical as domestic refineries expanded their capacity and demand for crude increased.
“Domestic refining cannot thrive by distributing a shrinking cake. It must be fed by a growing one,” Eyesan added.
GIK/APA