Dangote Industries Limited (DIL) has accused the International Oil Companies (IOCs) operating in Nigeria of actively hindering the Dangote Oil Refinery's operations.

Devakumar Edwin, Vice President of Oil and Gas at DIL, made the claim during a training program for energy journalists. Edwin specifically accused IOCs of inflating prices for locally sourced crude oil.

"While the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) are trying their best to allocate the crude for us," Edwin said, adding that, "the IOCs are deliberately and willfully frustrating our efforts to buy the local crude. They are either asking for ridiculous/humongous premium, or they simply state that crude is not available. At some point, we paid $6 over and above the market price."

Edwin pointed to recent efforts by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) to ensure domestic crude oil supply obligations (DCSO) were met, as mandated by the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA). However, he suggested these efforts were being undermined by the IOCs.

"It would be recalled that the NUPRC, recently met with crude oil producers as well as refinery owners in Nigeria, in a bid to ensure full adherence to Domestic Crude Oil Supply Obligations (DCSO), as enunciated under section 109(2) of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA)," Edwin explained. "It seems that the IOCs' objective is to ensure that our Petroleum Refinery fails."

The actions of the IOCs have reportedly forced the Dangote Refinery to reduce production and import crude oil from distant locations like the United States, significantly increasing their production costs.