The Federal Government’s committee on the sale of crude oil to local refineries in naira has reached an agreement with Dangote Petroleum Refinery to commence the rollout of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) in September 2024.
Additionally, the government announced that the sale of crude oil to Dangote Refinery and other local refineries will begin on October 1, 2024.
This was disclosed by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, during a meeting with the Implementation Committee in Abuja.
The meeting aimed to review progress on key initiatives and outlined crucial roles for stakeholders, including the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, Central Bank of Nigeria, Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, and the African Export-Import Bank, to ensure a seamless implementation process.
“The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, today led the Implementation Committee meeting on the transition to crude oil sales in naira,” a source said.
“The meeting reviewed progress on key initiatives, including the upcoming commencement of naira payments for crude oil sales to the Dangote Refinery starting October 1, 2024.”
The Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Dr Zacch Adedeji, who is the Chairman of the Technical Sub-Committee reported that “The first PMS delivery from Dangote is expected next month under existing agreements.”
It also stated that updates on the Port Harcourt and Dangote Refineries were also provided, with significant production increases expected from November 2024.
The minister emphasised the need for transparency and directed the Technical Sub-Committee to finalize details and prepare a report for the President, confirming that his directives are on track for implementation from September.
Recall that the Federal Executive Council had on July 29 okayed President Tinubu’s proposal for NNPC to halt the sale of crude oil to local refineries in foreign currency.
INDEPENDENT MARKETERS SLAM NNPC
Meanwhile, the 3,000-member Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, has lambasted the NNPCL for the prevailing acute petrol scarcity across the country.
The association slam the national petroleum giant for failing to provide adequate products and also for inefficient supplies and distribution of the available products
IPMAN chair in Ore Depot, Ondo State, Amoo Shina, said, “There is no supply anywhere; the available supply is poorly distributed. We have been raising this concern for a long time.”
He postulated that IPMAN should be adequately supplied because of its capacity and spread across the country, accusing the NNPCL of not operating the 70/30 per cent supply ratio in favour of its members.
“NNPCL abandoned the distribution pattern and stopped being sincere,” he said, adding that corruption in the downstream sector was responsible for the escalating cost of products after the removal of fuel subsidy.
