By Ayodele Johnson

Burning anticipation continues to grow around when the Dangote Refinery will eventually start the production of petrol and other derivatives from crude oil. One time the deadline was to begin processing by August and then the due date shifted to November although the attention has now been moved to the final month of the year, December.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has much to do with these recent postponements because the refinery needs its supply. Back in September when the concerns about delays around Dangote coming on stream were brewing, Dangote Group Executive Director, Mr Devakumar Edwin had explained talking to S&P Global that: “At the last minute [NNPC] said, ‘We have actually committed our crude on [a] forward basis to someone else,’ so immediately they don’t have the crude.”

What seems like the latest development can be found in a Reuters report published on Thursday, 2 November, where an unnamed NNPCL source “specified six cargoes, or 200,000 bpd, would be supplied in December as part of a one-year deal”. For the subsequent deliveries, the amount supplied would be “based on mutual agreement and availability“.

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Based on what Reuters also gathered from other sources, up to “4-5 cargoes, or at least 130,000 bpd”, was somewhat in the works. All these scenarios, no matter their true nature, are not what most Nigerians want to be reading about in the news because they want affordable petrol, and they are hoping Dangote Refinery will bring many benefits to them as they undergo difficult situations with food prices and inflation.

Despite the severity of the situation, Nigerians might feel like they are also in the dark because of the sketchiness surrounding what deal has been agreed between two parties, NNPCL and Dangote Group. An official with the latter who also did not want to be identified, quoting Reuters, said: “Some of the agreements have confidentiality clauses,” even though what the public wants is clear, unadulterated clarity they can use to make decisions in their living.

Even if the dilly-dally still persists, there is a firm belief in what will finally happen. It is a picture showing “100 percent of the requirement of [Nigeria]” being met be it December or after. When that happens, maybe the citizens will have ease since they are in great thirst for this.

Ayodele Johnson

Ayodelé is a Lagos-based journalist and the Content and Editorial Coordinator at Meiza. All around the megacity, I am steering diverse lifestyle magazine audiences with ingenious hacks and insights that spur fast, informed decisions in their busy lives.