The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has been instructed by President Bola Tinubu to sell crude oil to Dangote Refinery and other forthcoming refineries in naira.
This was disclosed by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga via his official X handle on Monday.
Onanuga said that the Federal Executive Council took the action today in order to guarantee the stability of the refined petrol pump price and the dollar-to-Naira exchange rate.
According to him, the Dangote Refinery currently needs 15 cargoes of crude, which comes with an annual cost of $13.5 billion. NNPC has however promised to provide four.
Onanuga stressed that the Federal Executive Council has approved that the 450,000 barrels meant for domestic consumption be offered in Naira to Nigerian refineries, using the Dangote refinery as pilot.
He noted that for the duration of this transaction, the exchange rate will remain constant.
The deal between Dangote and NNPC Limited will be facilitated by Afreximbank and other Nigerian settlement banks.
He said, “Dangote Refinery at the moment requires 15 cargoes of crude, at a cost of $13.5 billion yearly. NNPC has committed to supply four.
“But the FEC has approved that the 450,000 barrels meant for domestic consumption be offered in Naira to Nigerian refineries, using the Dangote refinery as pilot. The exchange rate will be fixed for the duration of this transaction.
“Afreximbank and other settlement banks in Nigeria will facilitate the trade between Dangote and NNPC Limited. The game changing intervention will eliminate the need for international letters of credit. It will also save the country of billions of dollars used in importing refined fuel.”
Recall the Chairman of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote had accused international oil companies in Nigeria of refusal to sell crude oil to the 650,000 barrels capacity oil refinery.
According to him, the international oil companies were used to exporting crude for foreign exchange and they were not ready to stop.
