The Dangote Petroleum Refinery and other domestic refineries have not yet started purchasing crude oil in naira, despite directives from President Bola Tinubu.
The $20 billion refinery, along with other local refineries in Nigeria, has yet to receive crude oil from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) in naira as instructed by Tinubu last week.
The Crude Oil Refiners Association of Nigeria (CORAN) reported that individual refiners have written letters to NNPC requesting crude oil, but have not received a response.
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) recently adopted a proposal by Tinubu to sell crude oil to the Dangote refinery and other upcoming refineries in naira.
FEC approved that the 450,000 barrels meant for domestic consumption be offered in naira to Nigerian refineries, using the Dangote refinery as a pilot.
The exchange rate will be fixed for the duration of this transaction.
However, nearly a week after the announcement, refiners said they had not heard from NNPC.
Eche Idoko, Publicity Secretary of CORAN, stated that the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Authority (NMDPRA) is expected to initiate the process.
“We have not started buying crude from NNPC. Individual members have written to them (NNPC) already, and they have several requests from these refineries before them.
Typically, we would expect our regulator, in this instance, the NMDPRA, to kickstart the process by calling for a meeting of all parties to discuss the framework for such supply or have NNPC respond to the various letters to it by the refineries requesting for crude,” Idoko noted.
Idoko previously stated that supplying crude oil to local refineries in naira would reduce the cost of petrol and strengthen the naira against the dollar.
He commended Tinubu for listening to the voices of indigenous refiners but suggested that an executive order should be issued for the new directive.
The crude oil refiners also requested a meeting with the economic team to establish a rate that would benefit the Nigerian market.
“Yes, we will see a rebound in the pricing of fuel once the President’s order is implemented.
Mind you, the pronouncement alone is not enough. It must be with a force of law, either by executive order or by incorporating it into a new guideline so that the crude producers will be bound to sell to us in naira,” Idoko stated.
Dangote refinery and other domestic refiners have reported difficulties in accessing crude oil for their plants.
Recently, the management of Dangote Group claimed that international oil companies (IOCs) were still frustrating crude supply to the 650,000-capacity refinery.
The group alleged that IOCs insisted on selling crude oil to its refinery through foreign agents, causing the local price of crude to increase as trading arms offer cargoes at $2 to $4 per barrel above the NUPRC official price.
The group also alleged that foreign oil producers seem to prioritize Asian countries in selling the crude they produce in Nigeria.
A senior official at the Dangote refinery, who requested anonymity due to a lack of authorization to speak on the matter, confirmed that the plant had yet to start buying crude in naira from NNPC.
NNPC spokesperson Olufemi Soneye did not respond to inquiries on the matter when contacted by our correspondent.
