The Management of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery has temporarily suspended the sale of Petroleum Products in Naira.
According to a statement by the refinery on Wednesday, the decision was necessary to avoid a mismatch between its sales proceeds and its crude oil purchase obligations, which it said were currently denominated in U.S. dollars.
Recall, that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited in response to allegations that it unilaterally terminated the naira-for-crude oil swap agreement with domestic refiners, including Dangote Refinery and other private operators in the country, recently clarified that the contract for the sale of crude oil in Naira was structured as a six-month agreement, subject to availability, and expires at the end of March 2025.
NNPC, while clarifying the allegations in a statement signed by its Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Mr. Olufemi Soneye, said discussions are currently ongoing towards emplacing a new contract.
Informing that under the arrangement, NNPC has made over 48 million barrels of crude oil available to Dangote Refinery since October 2024.
In aggregate, he said, NNPC has made over 84 million barrels of crude oil available to the Refinery since its commencement of operations in 2023.
However, the Dangote refinery explained that its sales of petroleum products in Naira have exceeded the value of Naira-denominated crude it has received.
Consequently, it said, it must temporarily adjust its sales currency to align with its crude procurement currency.
The refinery debunked the reports on the internet claiming that it is stopping loading due to an incident of ticketing fraud.
While describing the reports as a malicious falsehood, the refinery clarified that its systems are robust and had no fraud issues, reaffirming its commitment to serving the Nigerian market efficiently and sustainably.
It pledged to promptly resume petroleum product sales in Naira as soon as it receives an allocation of Naira-denominated crude cargoes from NNPC.
TheFact Daily reports that the naira-for-crude arrangement, introduced on October 1, 2024, allowed local refiners to purchase crude oil in naira instead of dollars.
The initiative was designed to support domestic refining capacity, reduce reliance on imported petroleum products, and stabilize the local currency by easing pressure on foreign exchange reserves.
