Dangote Refinery will reportedly stop loading petroleum products for the Nigerian market as the renegotiation of the naira-for-crude deal has stalled.
According to reports, 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 it secured with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Ltd but the deal has now ended.
On March 10, the NNPC discontinued the naira-for-crude deal with Dangote refinery and other local refineries but hours after the reported halt, Olufemi Soneye, the chief corporate communications officer of NNPC, said the current deal, which began in October 2024, will expire at the end of March.
Soneye added that negotiation is ongoing for a new naira-for-crude deal with Dangote Petroleum Refinery.
Soneye 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.
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.