Dangote Refinery will cease loading petroleum products for the Nigerian market as negotiations for the naira-for-crude deal are progressing slowly,
However, sources indicated that the refinery will continue loading products for export, as it currently sources all its crude oil from the international market and pays in dollars.
The refinery had been selling to Nigerian marketers in naira because it previously purchased crude in the local currency through an agreement with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Ltd.
On March 10, it was reported that NNPC had ended the naira-for-crude deal with Dangote Refinery and other local refineries. However, Olufemi Soneye, NNPC’s Chief Corporate Communications Officer, clarified that the current deal, which began in October 2024, will expire at the end of March.
Soneye added that negotiations are ongoing for a new naira-for-crude agreement with Dangote Refinery.
Since the agreement started in October 2024, NNPC has supplied over 48 million barrels of crude oil to Dangote Refinery, bringing the total amount of crude supplied by the state-owned company to over 84 million barrels since the refinery’s operations began in 2023.
