Dangote Refinery has resumed the purchase of crude oil from the United States to ramp up refining capacity and production.
According to a Bloomberg report on Wednesday, the cargo conveying two million barrels of WTI Midland crude from Chevron Corp. is due to be delivered to the refinery next month.
The new purchase comes after a three-month hiatus in purchasing crude from foreign countries, focusing instead on domestic supply.
The latest development may be an indication that the naira-for-crude deal by the federal government may have stalled or that the refinery is not getting enough crude supply from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.
Dangote refinery purchased its first shipment of US oil after a hiatus of three months as the site continues to ramp up production.
“The plant purchased about two million barrels of WTI Midland crude from Chevron Corp.,” the report said.
According to the publication, Chevron booked the supertanker Azure Nova to load crude from the US Gulf around December 5 to Dangote, according to tanker fixtures seen by Bloomberg.
Recall that on October 5, 2024, the Nigerian government hinted at the Naira-for-crude sale deal with Dangote Refinery.
However, an economist, Kelvin Emmanuel, recently said Dangote Refinery still buys crude oil from the Nigerian government in dollars.