Dangote Refinery and other local refineries are to take their first delivery of crude under the naira-for-crude deal next month, the Ministry of Finance confirmed yesterday.
The confirmation, through a statement from the federal ministry followed a July 29 directive by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu that local refineries should henceforth pay naira to access crude from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL).
The Presidential order came on the heels of an approval by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) at its Ninth meeting in the year, the Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Mr. Zacch Adedeji told reporters at the State House in Abuja.
According to Adedeji, beside the adoption of the naira as trading currency for the local operators, the President also directed the NNPCL to open talks with local refineries in in naira-denominated transactions.
The FIRS boss said the presidential directive also affects the sale of products from Dangote and other refineries. Their transactions must also be conducted in naira.
He said the decision were taken to mitigate the heavy reliance on foreign exchange for crude imports, which currently accounts to between 30 and 40 per cent of Nigeria’s foreign exchange (forex) expenditure.
Adedeji emphasized that the shift will stabilise crude oil prices domestically by minimising the impact of forex fluctuations.
Yesterday’s statement from the Finance Ministry followed a meeting of the Implementation Committee on Crude Oil Sales in Naira confirmed the development.
The committee, which is chaired by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, reviewed the progress of key initiatives aimed at transitioning crude oil sales from dollar to naira for local refineries.
