Fuel Price To Increase As Dangote, NNPC’s Naira-for-crude Talks Crumble

The Dangote Petroleum Refinery has temporarily ceased selling petroleum products in naira as the naira-for-crude negotiations between the $20 billion Lekki-based facility and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) appear to have failed.

Following the announcement of this suspension on Wednesday, the cost of loading petrol at private depots in Lagos surged to ₦900 per litre, up from less than ₦850 per litre before the announcement.

Industry experts and oil marketers have warned that this move could heighten pressure on the foreign exchange market, as dealers would now need large amounts of U.S. dollars to purchase petroleum products.

Multiple industry sources familiar with the issue cited the extensive forward sales of crude oil by NNPCL as a key factor behind the failure of the naira-for-crude talks.

According to The PUNCH, these sources pointed out that NNPCL had used large volumes of unproduced…