The Federal Executive Council has granted President Tinubu’s proposal to supply crude oil to Dangote Refinery and others in Naira.
The federal government announced this achievement to stabilize fuel prices and the Dollar-Naira exchange rate.
President Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, released this information through his official X-handle on Monday.
Currently, reports show that the refinery needs about 15 crude cargoes at the rate of $13.5 billion yearly. Therefore, the NNPC has taken responsibility for supplying four cargoes to the refinery.
President Tinubu Approves Crude Oil Sales to Local Refineries, Dangote Refinery included
Nigeria has set aside 450,000 barrels of crude oil for domestic consumption. Hence, this new directive by the Federal Executive Council will ensure that Nigerian refineries buy the barrels of crude oil in Naira.
Moreover, the Dangote refinery stands as the first to benefit from this initiative’s implementation.
Afreximbank and other settlement banks in Nigeria will handle the trades between the NNPC Limited and Dangote Refinery. Meanwhile, the exchange rate will remain fixed throughout this transaction.
Furthermore, this new directive will help remove the international letters of credit requirements for global trade. Nigeria will thus significantly reduce the money it spends on importing refined fuels.
Also, the country will save billions of dollars since this directive will promote the use of domestically refined fuel.
On the other hand, Dangote has not had it easy for a while since he has been facing challenges regarding the refinery. Meanwhile, people have also accused him of monopolistic practices.
Moreover, the Refinery has battled with the NNPC and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).
However, this recent announcement from the government could set Dangote Refinery off for significant success.