NNPC sustains crude supply to Dangote, improves pipeline availability – Ojulari 

Abuja, Sept. 29, 2026

Mr. Bayo Ojulari, Group Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.), says the company is sustaining crude oil supply to Dangote Refinery under the approved naira-for-crude arrangement.

Ojulari said this on Tuesday in Abuja at a press briefing on the company’s 2025 Audited Financial Statements, after its Annual General Meeting.

He said NNPC was supplying a specified number of crude cargoes to Dangote Refinery in Naira, while additional crude volumes were supplied in dollars.

He said that the dollar-denominated transactions were necessary because most of NNPC’s financial obligations, including payments to drilling contractors, project contractors and operators, were in dollars.

“Most of our commitments are in dollars, so there is no point receiving Naira and then going to buy dollars to meet those obligations.

“We have a commitment for supplying crude in Naira for a specific number of cargoes, typically. But also, the extra crude that are available, we only supply in dollars,” he said.

Ojulari said the company would continue to honour the Federal Government-approved Naira-for-crude arrangement while supplying additional available crude volumes in dollars.

On crude theft and pipeline security, he said the combination of community-based surveillance, intervention and security agencies had significantly improved the availability of major crude oil pipelines.

He said pipeline availability, particularly on major export routes, had improved substantially from levels recorded in early 2024, when some facilities operated at less than 10 per cent of producers’ reported output.

According to him, some producers are now reporting that they are able to deliver virtually all their production to terminals, indicating improved reliability across major pipeline networks.

Ojulari said the reconciliation factor between crude produced by operators and volumes accounted for at terminals had also improved to the 90 per cent range, compared with between 10 per cent and 20 per cent previously.

He, however, said that challenges remained on smaller internal pipelines and well-heads, particularly those located across difficult terrains.

The NNPC GCEO said the company was deploying technologies, including fibre optics and high-technology well-head cages, to detect intruders and improve response to crude theft and pipeline breaches.

He said while detection had improved significantly, the speed of response remained an area requiring further attention, particularly for facilities located in remote areas.

Ojulari said NNPC was therefore shifting greater attention to smaller pipeline networks and thousands of well-heads across land, swamp, seasonal swamp and shallow offshore terrains.

“We are looking at what additional technology we can put in place to support our operations in those areas,” he said.