Dangote Refinery is reportedly halting its supply of petroleum products to the Nigerian market due to the stalled renegotiation of the naira-for-crude deal. While the refinery will continue to load products for export, it currently sources all its crude stock from the international market in dollars.
Previously, the refinery sold products to Nigerian marketers in naira because it had secured a deal with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Ltd. to buy crude in the local currency. However, this agreement has now ended. On March 10, the NNPC announced the termination of the naira-for-crude deal with Dangote Refinery and other local refineries. Shortly after, Olufemi Soneye, the Chief Corporate Communications Officer of NNPC, clarified that the existing deal, which began in October 2024, would expire at the end of March, and negotiations for a new agreement were ongoing.
Soneye confirmed that NNPC had supplied over 48 million barrels of crude oil to Dangote Refinery since October 2024, bringing the total supplied to over 84 million barrels since the refinery began operations in 2023. The naira-for-crude arrangement was initially intended to improve local supply, save Nigeria millions in foreign exchange, and ultimately reduce pump prices.