The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has released its report on the enforcement of the Domestic Crude Supply Obligation (DCSO) for the first quarter of 2026, highlighting a significant gap between crude oil volumes allocated, offered, and actually supplied to domestic refineries.

According to the Commission, a total of 61.9 million barrels of crude oil was allocated to local refineries within the quarter under review. Oil producers, however, offered a higher volume of 68.7 million barrels, exceeding the required allocation. Despite this, actual deliveries to domestic refiners stood at just 28.5 million barrels, representing a supply conversion rate of between 36 and 46 per cent.

A month-by-month breakdown shows that in January, following consultations with industry stakeholders, the Commission mandated the supply of 22.6 million barrels to local refiners. Producers surpassed this target, offering 25.3 million barrels—an increase of 11.9 per cent, or 2.7 million barrels above the allocation. However, only 9.2 million barrels were eventually delivered.

In February, the Commission allocated 20.5 million barrels to domestic refineries, but producers offered slightly less at 19.8 million barrels, falling short by 700,000 barrels. Actual supply declined further to 9.1 million barrels.

March recorded a modest improvement, with deliveries rising to 10.1 million barrels, compared to 9.2 million barrels in January and 9.1 million barrels in February. During the same period, DCSO allocations stood at 18.8 million barrels, while producers offered 23.6 million barrels—an excess of 4.8 million barrels, or 25.5 per cent above the target.

The Commission attributed the persistent shortfall between volumes offered and actual deliveries primarily to pricing disagreements between crude oil producers and domestic refiners. It noted that the current framework operates on a “willing buyer, willing seller” basis, which continues to influence the final transaction volumes.

The DCSO policy is anchored on the Petroleum Industry Act 2021, which mandates oil producers to prioritise supply to domestic refineries as part of efforts to boost local refining capacity and reduce reliance on imports.

Despite the challenges observed in the first quarter, the Commission reaffirmed its commitment to achieving national energy sufficiency. It said it would continue to leverage the PIA framework to sustain gains in crude oil production while refining the DCSO implementation process to improve transparency and efficiency in domestic crude supply.