Nigeria’s domestic refineries received a major boost in crude oil supply during the second quarter of 2026, with deliveries rising by 88.4 per cent compared with the first quarter, according to the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).
The regulator said local refineries received 53.7 million barrels of crude oil and condensate between April and June, up from 28.5 million barrels delivered in the first quarter.
The sharp increase pushed the performance of the Domestic Crude Supply Obligation (DCSO) to 97.4 per cent, compared with about 46 per cent recorded in Q1.
Dangote Takes 52.6m Barrels
The Dangote Petroleum Refinery accounted for the largest share of the crude volumes offered to domestic refineries during the quarter.
According to the NUPRC, producers offered 68.1 million barrels to the refinery against its requirement of 63 million barrels.
Dangote, however, accepted 52.6 million barrels, representing about 78 per cent of the crude offered to it.
The NUPRC said the volume offered to Dangote represented about 98 per cent of all crude volumes offered to local refineries during the quarter.
The figures show that although producers offered more crude than Dangote required, not all the volumes offered were ultimately accepted by the refinery.
Crude Deliveries Jump From Q1
The latest performance represents a significant improvement over the first quarter, when producers offered 68.7 million barrels but only 28.5 million barrels were eventually delivered to local refineries.
In Q2, producers offered 69.3 million barrels, of which about 53.7 million barrels were actually supplied.
This means the proportion of crude offers converted into physical deliveries increased from about 41.5 per cent in Q1 to 77.5 per cent in Q2.
The NUPRC attributed the improvement partly to increased domestic oil production and the signing of longer-term crude supply agreements between producers and domestic refiners.
The commission explained that the DCSO is administered through regular consultations with producers and refiners, with producers allocated specific volumes to offer to domestic refineries.
However, the framework operates on a “willing buyer, willing seller” basis, meaning allocations do not automatically guarantee that the crude will eventually be delivered or accepted.
April and June Record Strong Performance
April recorded particularly strong results, with producers eventually supplying 20.88 million barrels, above the 18.13 million barrels allocated to them.
That represented a 114.9 per cent performance against the allocation.
May was weaker, with actual deliveries falling to 14.23 million barrels despite producers being allocated 18.78 million barrels.
June then recorded another strong performance, with local refineries receiving 18.61 million barrels, representing 102.4 per cent of the 18.17 million barrels allocated.
NUPRC Says DCSO Enforcement Is Improving
The commission said the latest figures demonstrate that the DCSO is increasingly being implemented and enforced.
“The statistics shows that DCSO is being actively administered and enforced by the NUPRC,” the commission stated.
It also linked the improvement to stronger crude production and longer-term commercial agreements between producers and domestic refiners.
“The Commission observed that the improvement in DCSO coincided with an increase in local oil production and the signing of the long-term crude supply agreement supported by a bankable Sales and Purchase agreement between the Producers and Domestic refiners.”
The NUPRC said it would continue enforcing the DCSO while working to sustain higher domestic crude production.
The improved supply is particularly important for Nigeria’s growing refining industry, with the 700,000-barrel-per-day Dangote refinery requiring consistent crude feedstock to operate at higher capacity and help reduce the country’s dependence on imported petroleum products.
Source: Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).
