NEW TELEGRAPH
The approval given to Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) by President Bola Tinubu for the sale of crude oil to the Dangote Petroleum Refinery in naira is going to force the prices of domestically refined petroleum products to crash, oil marketers, refiners, and experts stated on Monday.
Operators in the downstream oil sector commended the move by the President, stating that it would boost the outputs of domestic refineries, shore up the country’s foreign exchange reserves, and strengthen the naira.
They also hailed the media for always putting the matter on the front burner, stressing that Nigerian refineries should not continue to struggle to get the United States dollar to procure a commodity that is produced in-country.
No Title
No Description
New Telegraph had earlier reported that President Tinubu directed the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited to sell crude to the Dangote refinery and other upcoming refineries in naira.
The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Publicity, Bayo Onanuga, who made the announcement in a post via his official X handle said the Federal Executive Council (FEC) adopted the move on Monday to ensure the stability of the pump price of refined fuel and the dollar-naira exchange rate.
Dangote refinery has been embroiled in a crude oil supply crisis with the International Oil Companies operating in Nigeria. Later, it had some confrontations with the country’s midstream/downstream regulator.
The 650,000 barrels per day refinery got crude oil earlier this year from NNPC and a few IOCs but raised an alarm later that IOCs were not willing to supply crude to the plant, as it had to switch to the massive importation of crude oil.
Dangote refinery currently requires about 15 cargoes of crude oil at about $13.5bn yearly. NNPC has committed to supply four. The latest order by the President would make the supply of this product to Dangote and other domestic refineries to be done in naira and not dollars.
Onanuga also revealed that the Federal Executive Council approved that the 450,000 barrels meant for domestic consumption be offered in naira to Nigerian refineries, using the Dangote refinery as a pilot.
In his statement on X, titled, “President Tinubu offers a lifeline to Dangote refinery, NNPC to sell crude to it in naira, the presidential media aide said, “To ensure the stability of the pump price of refined fuel and the dollar-naira exchange rate, the Federal Executive Council today adopted a proposal by President Tinubu to sell crude to Dangote refinery and other upcoming refineries in naira.
READ THE FULL STORY IN NEW TELEGRAPH
