The Executive Director of Dangote Group, Devakumar Edwin, has revealed that the Dangote Petroleum Refinery is currently importing crude oil and expects its first crude cargo in about a Forthnight.

Although the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited trades crude oil on behalf of Nigeria, Edwin in an interview  on Monday, said the NNPCL had committed its crude to other entities.

The Dangote refinery boss did not disclose the other entities receiving the oil company’s crude but NNPC disclosed last month it had entered into a $3bn crude oil-for-loan deal with African Export-Import Bank.  The deal allowed the company to pledge future oil production to the bank  as repayments for the loan.

Sources within the NNPC are quoted to have said the company had entered into crude oil contracts with a number of entities, a development that made it impossible for the organization to meet Dangote’s need earlier.

A top official of the oil company, however, said  plans were already underway to ensure Dangote’s refineries crude oil needs were met in November.

Also, Edwin pointed out that the importation of crude by Dangote refinery was temporary, as the firm would receive supply from NNPCL from November.

Edwin went ahead to state that the firm would begin the production of up to 370,000 barrels per day of crude that would give rise to Automotive Gas Oil, popularly called diesel, and jet fuel in October 2023.

For Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, the Dangote Group’s boss said the plant would produce it by November 30, 2023.

This came as oil marketers stated that the prices of diesel and jet fuel would only crash when the Dangote refinery starts receiving crude oil from Nigeria, and not by importing crude.