NNPC, Dangote refinery sign fresh two-year crude deal

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has signed another two-year crude supply agreement with the Dangote Petroleum Refinery. The PUNCH gathered that the deal signed last month would ensure the steady supply of crude to the 650,000-barrel-per-day refinery located in Lekki, Lagos.

It was futrher gathered that the deal is in line with the Federal Government’s determination to supply more crude to the facility, especially in naira. The PUNCH learned that about 82 million barrels of crude have been allocated to the refinery from October 2024 to date.

Out of the 82 million barrels, 60 per cent, being 49.3 million barrels, was sold in naira to the refinery, according to details obtained from NNPC on Monday.

Recall that the Dangote refinery recently announced stopping petrol sales in naira, citing the exhaustion of its crude-for-naira allocation as the reason. But hours later, the Naira-for-Crude Technical Committee Chairman intervened, and the company announced the resumption of PMS sales in naira.

Speaking with our correspondent, the Chief Corporate Communications Officer of NNPC, Andy Odeh, said the company had continued to allocate crude to the refinery in naira.

According to Odeh, NNPC, Dangote refinery, and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority periodically reconcile the volume and cost of crude oil supplied in naira commensurate with the crude delivered.

The spokesperson maintained that the state-owned energy company and the refinery negotiated and signed a new sales and purchase agreement that would terminate in 2027.

“In line with the FGN Crude for Naira Initiative, NNPC Limited has continued to allocate crude to Dangote refinery in naira for the sale of products in the domestic market.

“On the basis of the above, NNPC Limited, DPRP (Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemical), and NMDPRA periodically reconcile the volume and cost of product supplied in naira commensurate with the crude delivered.

“NNPC and DPRP have negotiated and in August signed a new Sales and Purchase Agreement for a tenure of two years,” Odeh said. He added that the company allocated three naira crude cargoes to the refinery in August and five cargoes for September and October.

He explained that crude loading operations for August had been completed, while September loading operations are currently ongoing with two vessels presently in terminals for pre-loading formalities.

“Consequently, NNPC allocated three naira crude cargoes in August and five cargoes each for September and October 2025. Crude loading operations for August have been completed, while September loading operations are currently underway with two vessels presently at terminals undergoing pre-loading formalities.

“In total, from October 2024 to October 2025, a total of 82 million barrels of crude have been allocated to the refinery, with 60 per cent of this total (49.3 million barrels) being naira cargoes,” he stated.

Dangote’s media team has yet to respond to messages seeking further details about the deal.

Meanwhile, the Steering Committee of the Domestic Crude Oil and Refined Products Sales in Local Currency Initiative, chaired by the Minister of Finance and the Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun, has assured Nigerians that the purported suspension of the naira-for-crude oil arrangement has been amicably resolved.

The Director of Information and Public Relations at the Finance Ministry, Mohammed Manga, said in a statement that a meeting held by the committee over the weekend had in attendance the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Atiku Bagudu; the Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Mr Zacch Adedeji, who also chairs the Technical Committee; representatives of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd., the Central Bank of Nigeria, and Afreximbank; and the Dangote refinery.

He reaffirmed that “there will be no disruption in the supply of refined petroleum products across the country. For the avoidance of doubt, the committee reassured that the crude oil for the naira initiative will continue.

“The Federal Government remains fully committed to ensuring energy security, protecting consumers and maintaining stability in the domestic petroleum products market.”

The naira-for-crude deal was ordered by President Bola Tinubu last year amid the crude crisis facing the Dangote refinery. The crude earmarked for local consumption was to be sold to local refineries, beginning with the Dangote refinery.

Though Dangote had repeatedly appreciated Tinubu for the intervention and its impact in helping lower crude prices, it had also complained of low crude supply forcing it to rely more on the United States for feedstock.

With the new agreement, the refinery is expected to get more local crude supplies going forward.

Marketers speak

Reacting, oil marketers described the deal as a welcome development, saying it would ensure a steady supply of fuels into the local market. They said Dangote should not rely heavily on imported crude if the Federal Government fully implements the domestic crude supply obligation.

The Vice President of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Hammed Fashola, stated that the agreement would ensure energy security in the country.

“It is a good development. It will bring stability, sort of. We all know the impact of that when the programme started. Everybody was happy about it. If they can renew it and get it going on, it is good for the system; it will bring stability,” Fashola said.

Similarly, IPMAN spokesman, Chinedu Ukadike, commended the move but advised that the modular refineries should not be left behind. “I know there’s an agreement, but I don’t know if it is two years. There was a time Dangote stopped supplying products because of this naira-for-crude deal. Finally, the presidential committee swung into action and agreed to supply him crude uninterruptedly. I heard about.

“It is good news. NNPC should continue to supply Dangote crude oil. You cannot be exporting crude while Dangote is importing crude. By supplying crude oil to the Dangote refinery, we can have an uninterrupted supply of petroleum products in our filling stations, and the masses will not suffer.

“As independent marketers, we are highly committed and service-oriented to ensure there is a continuous flow of petroleum products from our tanks to the end users. The government should also consider modular refineries in its domestic crude supply obligation,” Ukadike said.

He charged the Federal Government to come up with a white paper to put an end to the crisis between Dangote and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, saying the crisis can endanger the nation’s economy. (Punch)