Nigerian Refineries Receive 127 Million Barrels Of Crude In Nine Months — NUPRC

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has disclosed that domestic refineries received more than 127 million barrels of Nigerian crude oil and condensate between January and September 2026, following improved implementation of the Domestic Crude Supply Obligation (DCSO).

The Commission’s Chief Executive, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, disclosed this on Tuesday while speaking at the OTL Africa Downstream Energy Week 2026 in Lagos, themed “Secure Energy, Shared Prosperity.”

Eyesan, who was represented by the Assistant Director of Operations, Prosper Omonedo, said the Commission’s engagement with oil producers and refiners had helped improve crude deliveries after commercial disagreements disrupted supplies in the first quarter of the year.

She explained that 53.7 million barrels of crude oil and condensate were supplied to domestic refineries in the second quarter, while 45.1 million barrels were delivered in the third quarter.

According to her, the deliveries represented performance levels of 97.4 per cent and 76.2 per cent, respectively, under the domestic crude supply framework.

The NUPRC chief executive noted that Section 109 of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021 mandates the Commission to allocate crude oil to domestic refineries before it is exported.

She also disclosed that the Commission was consulting oil producers, refiners and other stakeholders on a domestic crude swap framework designed to reduce transportation costs and improve supply efficiency.

Under the proposed arrangement, refiners could receive crude oil from the nearest suitable production or export point rather than transporting allocated grades over long distances. The initiative is expected to reduce costs by an estimated $3 to $4 per barrel.

On production performance, Eyesan said Nigeria recorded an average of 1.717 million barrels per day of crude oil and condensate in September, representing a 2.34 per cent increase from August.

Crude oil production alone averaged 1.53 million barrels per day, marking the fifth consecutive month the industry met or exceeded its production quota.

She attributed the improvement to enhanced asset integrity, stronger security around oil evacuation infrastructure, improved collaboration with operators and sustained regulatory efforts to restore previously shut-in production.

On the 2026 oil licensing round, Eyesan said the 40 blocks on offer would undergo a transparent evaluation process, with published assessment criteria and mandatory disclosure of beneficial ownership.

She added that the Commission was enforcing the drill-or-drop principle to discourage speculative holding of oil licences, noting that 22 recent awardees were expected to contribute at least 250,000 barrels per day to national production within five years.

Eyesan reaffirmed the Commission’s commitment to meeting the Domestic Gas Delivery Obligation and working with the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to align refinery demand with crude supply planning.

She said the objective was to ensure that improvements in upstream production translated into tangible benefits for households, industries and the power sector.

Meanwhile, the Chief Executive of the NMDPRA, Rabiu Umar, disclosed that three out of every four litres of petrol consumed in Nigeria were now refined locally, describing the development as unprecedented in the country’s downstream petroleum industry, which had historically depended heavily on imported products.

However, Umar acknowledged that domestic supply fell short of consumption in September.

He said an average of 38.7 million litres of petrol was supplied daily during the period, compared with estimated daily consumption of 44.4 million litres. The shortfall was covered through existing stockpiles.

To guard against future supply disruptions, the NMDPRA chief executive said the Authority was pursuing a short-term target of maintaining sufficient petroleum product stocks to cover between 30 and 45 days of demand nationwide.

Umar also admitted that Nigeria lacked reliable data on actual domestic fuel consumption, making it difficult to accurately track volumes supplied to individual filling stations.

He said the Authority was working with an information technology firm to develop a system that would provide dependable consumption data and improve monitoring across the downstream sector.

The developments highlight ongoing efforts by petroleum regulators to strengthen domestic refining, improve crude oil supply arrangements and reduce Nigeria’s dependence on imported petroleum products.