‘Our plant can meet local supply’
The merits of crude sale in naira, by president
Business mogul Aliko Dangote yesterday advised the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and oil marketers to stop the importation of petrol.

He told them that Dangote Refinery is capable of meeting local needs.

He spoke after a meeting of the Implementation Committee on Crude Oil and Refined Products Sales in Naira in Abuja, which he attended.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who hosted the meeting at Aso Villa, explained that the sale of crude in naira would put the oil sector on an effective lane.

He warned against a “revert to outdated and ineffective methods of the last 40 years”.

Alhaji Dangote said: “I assured Mr. President we will be able to supply the market minimum of 30 million litres per day, and we’ll be ramping up as we go on. So, we’re ready. We’re more than ready.

What I’m saying is that the retailers should please come forward and load our products.

“If they don’t come forward and pick, what do you want me to do? There is nothing I can do.

“I am expecting either NNPCL or the marketers to stop importing; they should come and buy our products because we have what they need. And you know, as they move, I will be pumping.

“I don’t know whether you understand what it takes to have a billion litres inside our tank. It’s costing me money every day.

“If I am able to collect the naira, I can actually charge somebody 32 per cent in interest. So, right now, that’s what I’m losing.

“And you are talking about 500 million, you know, I mean, we don’t print money. But the issue is that if they come and collect, then you will not see any queues in the filling stations.”

Chairman of the Committee and Finance Minister, Wale Edun, told the reporters that the sale of crude in naira to local refiners had set the economy on the path of industrialisation and modernisation.

Edun led NNPCL Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) Mele Kyari; Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Yemi Cardoso and Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) Chairman, Zach Adedeji who are members of the committee to the meeting.

Others who attended are Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) Chief Executive Farouk Ahmed and his Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) counterpart, Gbenga Komolafe.

Edun highlighted the positive trajectory of Nigeria’s economy following recent market-driven reforms, particularly in foreign exchange and petroleum product pricing.

He noted that the policies were paving the way for industrial growth and private-sector investment.

The minister explained that the market pricing of foreign exchange was steering the country toward industrialisation by facilitating private-sector refining of crude oil.

He pointed out that local crude refining had bolstered the availability of raw materials, not only for Agriculture but for a range of industries, including chemicals, paints, building materials, and textiles.

The reforms, according to him, align with President Tinubu’s broader economic strategy, which prioritises an enabling environment for private sector investment, job creation, and economic expansion.

The minister also highlighted the benefits of market-driven pricing for petroleum products, which he said has strengthened the NNPCL’s financial stability.

Edun added that this shift is empowering federal, state, and local governments with increased revenue to fulfil essential obligations, from paying public sector salaries to funding social services and infrastructure projects.

While acknowledging that the reforms mark the early steps of a broader economic transformation, Edun expressed optimism about the country’s path to industrial development.

He said: “We have market pricing of foreign exchange that has set the economy on the path to industrialisation, because with private sector refining of crude oil, we now have raw materials, not just for agriculture, but for industry, for chemicals, for paints, for building materials, for textiles.

This is Mr. President’s strategy and his policy of making conditions right for the private sector to invest, create jobs and grow the economy.

“Likewise, the market pricing of petroleum products has also paved the way for NNPCL to restore its balance sheet, restore its financial fortunes, and of course, to give the Federation, state and local governments more funding to allow them to meet their obligations – salary payments to workers, social services to the population generally, and of course, key infrastructure development.

“The economy has been set well and truly on a path, although it’s early steps, and there is much to be done, but we can now see a clear path to industrial development for modernisation of the Nigerian economy, because the key prices are right, and it is encouraging private sector investment.”

He added that AfreximBank, the financial adviser, was part of the meeting, and would act as an intermediary, ensuring that the parties – the seller of the crude and the buyer of the crude – were able to complete their transactions.

He said the implementation committee and the sub-committee had worked assiduously with all stakeholders to ensure the initiative was implemented.

NMDPRA: 50m litres consumed daily

Ahmed put the volume of daily petrol consumption at between 45 million to 50 million litres.

He spoke on the sidelines of the ongoing 18th OTL Africa Downstream Energy Week in Lagos yesterday.

Ahmed, who attributed the volume to increased industrial and consumer activities, expressed hope that recent price adjustments/market liberalisation would reduce cross-border smuggling.

“We hope this price adjustment or liberalisation will discourage cross-border smuggling of the product, meaning that more petrol will stay within the country,” he said.

The NMDPRA chief, however, believes that the petrol consumption levels were unlikely to drop significantly, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

‘IPMAN buying from Dangote’

Also yesterday, the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) said its members had been lifting petrol from Dangote Refinery.

“I am aware that marketers are buying petrol from Dangote,” said the association’s President Abubakar Maigandi.

Dangote Refinery rolled out petrol from the plant on September 15.

At the outset, the NNPCL was the sole off-taker of the product, selling to marketers and at its outlets.

There was controversy over the cost price from the refinery, which contradicted the price announced by the NNPCL.

However, the refinery failed to make its cost price public.

The NNPCL also complained that Dangote Refinery was unable to meet its supply demand.

Earlier this month, at the commencement of the crude sale to the refinery in naira, the NNPCL withdrew as the sole off-taker, paving the way for all marketers to purchase products from the refinery.

The controversy lingered and last week, it became clear that Dangote Refinery had sued the NNPCL, the regulators of the downstream oil sector and independent petroleum importers, asking the court to preclude them from importation of petrol.

The refinery asked the court to stop the regulators from issuing licences for importers.

But in a statement, the refinery said all the issues had been resolved after the Federal Government allowed the sale of crude in naira to local refineries.

It said the case would be withdrawn at the next adjourned date in January.

©CDA News