53.7 million barrels of oil sent to local refiners in Q2, NUPRC

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) reported that 53.7 million barrels of crude oil and condensate were sent to local refiners from April to June 2026 under the Domestic Crude Supply Obligation (DCSO).

This amount shows a performance rate of 97.4 percent for the second quarter of 2026. The figures come from the Commission’s Q2 DCSO enforcement statistics released on Monday.

The DCSO is managed by the NUPRC according to Section 109 of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021.

Under this system, the Commission holds monthly meetings with crude oil producers and licensed domestic refineries. After these meetings, specific amounts of crude oil and condensate are assigned to producers for local refineries.

But the system works on a “willing buyer, willing seller” basis, which affects the final volume supplied and received.

In April, the NUPRC allocated 18,127,638 barrels to producers. The producers offered 19,312,476 barrels to local refiners, and 20,879,381 barrels were ultimately supplied. This shows a performance of 114.9 percent against the allocated volume.

In May, the Commission allocated 18,778,392 barrels to producers. The producers offered 23,187,893 barrels to local refiners, but only 14,228,865 barrels were actually supplied by the end of the month, which is 75.8 percent compliance.

For June, the NUPRC stated it allocated 18,172,638 barrels to producers. The producers offered 26,835,119 barrels to refiners. Ultimately, 18,606,026 barrels were supplied, showing a performance of 102.4 percent.

The Commission noted that the better performance in DCSO coincided with an increase in domestic oil production. It also mentioned the signing of long-term crude supply agreements backed by solid Sales and Purchase Agreements between producers and local refiners.

In May, the NUPRC said Nigeria’s domestic refineries received only 28.5 million barrels of crude oil in the first quarter of 2026. This was despite producers offering 68.7 million barrels.

At that time, the NUPRC shared that a summary of monthly allocations showed 61.9 million barrels of crude oil were allocated to domestic refineries from January to March, while producers offered a higher total of 68.7 million barrels.

“However, actual supply to local refineries was 28.5 million barrels, leading to a supply conversion rate of 36-46 percent by the end of the first quarter (Q1) 2026,” the statement said.

The data for Q1 and Q2 released so far show a continuing gap between the volumes of crude oil allocated, offered, and finally supplied to local refiners. This happens even as the government tries to boost local refining and cut down on imports.

At the refinery level, the NUPRC reported that the Dangote Refinery needed 63 million barrels of crude oil in the second quarter.

Producers offered 68.1 million barrels to the refinery, which is 98 percent of all crude volumes offered to local refiners during that time.

The refinery accepted 52.6 million barrels, which is 78 percent of the volume offered to it.

The NUPRC reaffirmed its commitment to helping the Federal Government achieve energy sufficiency by effectively implementing the DCSO.

The Commission stated it will continue to use the framework set up under the PIA 2021 to maintain recent gains in crude oil production and strengthen enforcement of the domestic crude supply obligation.