The Nigerian government’s bid to enforce the Domestic Crude Supply Obligation (DCSO) faced stiff resistance in 2024, as several upstream oil companies refused to allocate crude oil to local refineries, including the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has revealed.
According to the commission’s newly released report, multiple oil producers—including members of the Independent Petroleum Producers Group (IPPG) and the Oil Producers Trade Section (OPTS)—submitted formal letters requesting waivers or detailing their inability to meet the monthly crude supply volumes assigned to them under the DCSO framework.
“Several pushbacks from IPPG, OPTS, some producers and their equity partners were received via formal letters, either requesting for waivers on the allocated monthly obligations or giving detailed explanations why they might not be able to meet up with the allocated volumes,” the report stated.
The resistance occurred despite the gazetting of the Production Curtailment and Domestic Crude Supply Obligation Regulations in September 2023, and continued regulatory engagements by the NUPRC to enforce compliance.
The NUPRC has been pushing to ensure that a reliable portion of Nigeria’s crude output is reserved for domestic refining, aimed at reducing import dependence and stabilising the supply of refined petroleum products.
The report underscores a key challenge in Nigeria’s transition toward energy self-sufficiency, revealing the complexity of aligning commercial oil interests with national policy goals.
