The Federal Government has announced that on October 1, 2024, it will start selling crude oil to Dangote Refinery and other local refineries.

The statement was made on Monday, 19 August 2024, in Abuja by Wale Edun, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy during a meeting with the Implementation Committee, according to PUNCH.

A post on the Finance Ministry’s official X page stated that the purpose of the meeting was to assess the status of important projects.

To guarantee a successful implementation, important roles for stakeholders were delineated during the meeting, including the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, the African Export-Import Bank, the Central Bank of Nigeria, and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission.

“Today, Mr. Wale Edun, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, led the Implementation Committee meeting on the transition to crude oil sales in naira,” the post stated.

“Key initiatives, such as the impending start of naira payments for crude oil sales to the Dangote Refinery starting October 1, 2024, were reviewed in the meeting.”

“The first PMS delivery from Dangote is expected next month under existing agreements,” according to reports from the Chairman of the Technical Sub-Committee and Dr. Zacch Adedeji, the Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service.

It further said that updates on the Port Harcourt and Dangote refineries were given, and that beginning in November 2024, considerable production increases were anticipated.

To ensure that the President’s directives are being carried out as planned starting in September, the minister emphasized the need for transparency and gave the Technical Sub-Committee instructions to complete specifics and prepare a report.

Remember how the Federal Executive Council approved President Tinubu’s request on July 29 for NNPC to stop selling crude oil to regional refineries in foreign currency? Using the Dangote refinery as a pilot, the Federal Executive Council accepted the offer to sell Nigerian refineries 450,000 barrels intended for domestic use in exchange for Naira.

The action is taken to guarantee the stability of the dollar-to-naira exchange rate as well as the refined gasoline pump price. The Dangote Refinery currently needs 15 cargoes of crude oil each year, according to the findings.

As a reaction, the minister of finance established a technical subcommittee to create the legal structure for the naira-based sale of crude oil to regional refineries. The meeting on Monday is the second in seven days.

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