Bella Ifasola
LAGOS – Dangote Petroleum Refinery has announced suspension of sale of petroleum products in country’s local currency naira, the lagos-based company said in a notice on Wednesday.
According to the company, the decision is temporary.
“We wish to inform you that, Dangote Petroleum Refinery has temporarily halted the sale of petroleum products in Naira. This decision is necessary to avoid a mismatch between our sales proceeds and our crude oil purchase obligations, which are currently denominated in U.S. dollars,” it said in the notice.
“To date, our sales of petroleum products in Naira have exceeded the value of Naira-denominated crude we have received. As a result, we must temporarily adjust our sales currency to align with our crude procurement currency. Our attention has also been drawn to reports on the internet claiming that we are stopping loading due to an incident of ticketing fraud. This is malicious falsehood. Our systems are robust and we have had no fraud issues.
“We remain committed to serving the Nigerian market efficiently and sustainably. As soon as we receive an allocation of Naira-denominated crude cargoes from NNPC, we will promptly resume petroleum product sales in Naira. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation during this period.”
However, sources said the refinery will continue to load for export as it currently sources all its crude stock from the international market in dollars.
The refinery sells to Nigerian marketers in naira because it buys crude in the local currency through the deal with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Ltd. The deal has now ended.
Local refineries and the federal government agreed to sell crude oil and refined petroleum products in naira to improve supply, save the country millions of dollars in petroleum product imports, and eventually reduce pump prices.
Olufemi Soneye, the chief corporate communications officer of NNPC had said the current deal, which began in October 2024, expires at the end of March.
Soneye told a local newspaper that negotiation was ongoing for a new naira-for-crude deal with Dangote Petroleum Refinery.
The spokesperson said NNPC has made over 48 million barrels of crude oil available to Dangote refinery since October 2024, adding that in aggregate, the government-owned oil company has supplied over 84 million barrels of crude oil to the refinery since its commencement of operations in 2023.
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