Gbenga Komolafe
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), issued a new policy aimed at boosting domestic refining capacity and drastically cutting down reliance on imported petroleum products.
Gbenga Komolafe, the Commission Chief Executive of NUPRC who disclosed this during a press briefing in Abuja on Monday, pointed out that this new policy makes it mandatory for oil firms to supply a portion of their crude oil to domestic refineries before exporting it.
“The move,” he said, is in line with Nigeria’s commitment to enhance its domestic refining capacity and ensure the sustainability of its oil industry.”
He went on to explain that as of January 1st, 2024, Nigeria’s crude oil and condensate reserves were at 31.56 billion barrels and 5.94 billion barrels respectively, totaling to 37.50 billion barrels while the Associated Gas and Non-Associated Gas reserves were at 102.59 Trillion Cubic Feet and 106.67 Trillion Cubic Feet respectively, accumulating in total Gas reserves of 209.26 Trillion Cubic Feet.
He added that in conformance with the provisions of Section 109(2) of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), 2021, the NURPC has come forth with a template guiding the activities for Domestic Crude Oil Supply Obligation (DCSO).
In the template, among the procedures for implementation of domestic crude oil supply obligations (DCSO), is the supply of crude oil requirements of refineries in operation to the Commission adding that where shortages or inadequate supply conditions occur, it must be reported accordingly.
It also indicated that the payments shall either be made in USD ($) or Naira (N) or both, adding that where the payment is in both currencies, the payment split shall be as agreed in the SPA between the Producer and the Refiner.
The template pointed out that “Crude oil produced by a lessee shall be subject to DCSO imposed by the Commission, provided that the lessee shall be entitled to export any volume of crude oil more than its domestic crude oil supply obligation. The Commission shall publish on its official website and in three national newspapers the domestic crude refining requirements of operating refineries in Nigeria based on the information provided to the Commission by the NMDPRA on the crude oil requirements of refineries in operation in Nigeria pursuant to section 109 (3) of the PIA 2021.
“Where a refinery cannot independently source crude oil from lessees, based on available information, the refinery’s crude preferences should be sent to the Commission before the 15th Business Day of the 3rd month.
“All DCSO allocated cargoes must be discharged into the refinery facility they are programmed for and shall not be diverted or swapped; utilization of any DCSO allocation by any refiner for any purpose other than domestic processing, without a written approval by the Commission shall attract suspension from DCSO allocation for a period determined by the Commission in addition to any other administrative penalty that may be imposed by the Commission.
“In the occurrence of a default in payment by the Refiner, the Commission shall not allocate DCSO to the defaulter for a period to be determined by the Commission in addition to the penalty contained in the Sales Agreement between the refiner and the lessee.
“In the event of failure to lift within the scheduled delivery window by the Refiner, resulting in tank top/production curtailment, the defaulting refiner shall be suspended by the Commission from receiving DCSO allocation for a period to be determined by the Commission; and will be liable to pay a fine equivalent to the delayed royalty from the deferred volume in addition to other failure to lift penalties.”
It also stated that where the lessee failed to supply the allocated DCSO resulting in shortages for the refinery (except in the event of force Majeure as defined in the SPA), the defaulting lessee will be liable to administrative penalty to be determined and imposed by the Commission.