The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, has announced that the sale of crude oil and refined petroleum products in naira officially commenced on October 1, 2024.
Edun shared this update in a statement on his official X handle on Saturday.
This initiative follows a meeting of the Implementation Committee, chaired by Edun, which conducted a post-commencement review of the program.
The commencement of this strategic initiative was affirmed by key stakeholders, highlighting broad support for the transition to naira sales in the crude oil and refined products market.
The statement read, “The Hon. Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy announced that, in line with the Federal Executive Council (FEC) directive, the sale of crude oil and refined petroleum products in Naira has officially commenced as of October 1st, 2024.
“Following a meeting of the Implementation Committee, chaired by the Hon. Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy on October 3rd, 2024, to conduct a post-commencement review of the Crude Oil and Refined Products Sales in Naira initiative, the commencement of this strategic initiative was affirmed by key stakeholders.”
According to the statement, present in the meeting were the Minister of State, Petroleum (Oil), the Special Adviser to the President on Revenue, the Special Adviser to the President on Energy, the Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, the representative of the Chairman of Dangote Group, the Vice President of Dangote Group, and the management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company, led by the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO), Chief Financial Officer (CFO), and Executive Vice President (Downstream).
AMBusiness reported in August that the Federal Executive Council approved President Tinubu’s proposal to sell crude oil to Dangote Refinery and other upcoming refineries in naira.
The landmark announcement by the federal government aims to stabilize fuel pump prices and the dollar-naira exchange rate.
The Federal Executive Council’s new directive will allow the sale of 450,000 barrels of crude oil earmarked for domestic consumption to Nigerian refineries in naira, with Dangote Refinery serving as the pilot for this initiative.
This intervention aims to eliminate the need for international letters of credit and is expected to save the country billions of dollars currently spent on importing refined fuel.
On Monday, the Technical Sub-Committee on Domestic Sales of Crude Oil in Local Currency confirmed that the supply of crude in naira by NNPC to Dangote Refinery would begin on Tuesday, October 1, 2024.
On September 13, 2024, the committee announced that the Federal Executive Council, under the leadership of President Bola Tinubu, approved the sale of crude to local refineries in naira, along with the corresponding purchase of petroleum products in naira.
“From October 1, NNPC will commence the supply of about 385kbpd (385,000 barrels per day) of crude oil to the Dangote refinery to be paid for in naira,” the committee had declared.
