FG Orders Crude Sale To Dangote In Naira As Petrol Scarcity Bites

The federal government has directed the Nigerian National Petroleum Company, NNPC Limited to sell crude oil to the Dangote Refinery in Naira.

The development comes after a resolution to that effect by the Federal Executive Council, FEC, meeting held on Monday, according to Bayo Onanuga, a spokesman to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

The magazine reported a spat between the owner of the refinery and Africa’s Richest Man, Aliko Dangote,  and the NNPCL after the former accused  the government-controlled oil firm of plot to kill the refinery.

Dangote had accused NNPCL and International Oil Companies, IOC, of frustrating production after they refused to supply crude to the refinery.

In a statement Onanuga posted on his X handle, the federal government has offered to sell to the refinery four cargoes of crude out of the 15 crude cargoes it required annually to support production in the refinery owned by Africa’s Richest Man, Aliko Dangote.

The aim, according to the presidential spokesman, is to ensure stable price of pump price of petrol in the country.

Onanuga said Dangote would be used as a pilot for the Naira-for -crude arrangement as other domestic refineries will also benefit, adding that Afreximbank would serve as the facilitator of the deal between Dangote and NNPCL.

The statement 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.

“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.”

Meanwhile, the petrol scarcity which started last week is having a serious toll on businesses and movement across the country, according to on-the-spot assessment by The Sources correspondents, who said a litre of petrol is now being sold for as much as N1,250 in some parts of the country, even as long queue have returned to many filling stations.

The NNPCL has says a hitch in the discharge operations of some vessels carrying fuel is the cause of the current scarcity. .