There are indications that the supply of crude oil in naira by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited to the Dangote Petroleum Refinery which should have started on October 1, 2024, has yet to begin as of Thursday, October 3.
Officials at the Dangote refinery and those at the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, Federal Ministry of Finance, and NNPC, among others, stayed mute when contacted for updates on the naira-for-crude deal between NNPC and Dangote.
On Monday, The PUNCH reported that the Technical Sub-Committee on Domestic Sales of Crude Oil in Local Currency had confirmed the preceding day that the supply of crude in naira by NNPC to the Dangote refinery would begin on Tuesday, October 1, 2024.
On September 13, 2024, the committee announced that the Federal Executive Council under the leadership of President Bola Tinubu approved the sale of crude to local refineries in naira and the corresponding purchase of petroleum products in naira.
“From October 1, NNPC will commence the supply of about 385kbpd (385,000 barrels per day) of crude oil to the Dangote refinery to be paid for in naira,” the committee had declared.
The Chairman of the Technical Sub-Committee is Zacch Adedeji, who doubles as Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service.
The Special Adviser on Media to the FIRS Chairman, Mr Dare Adekanmbi, had responded in the affirmative when contacted on Sunday and asked if the plan for the crude oil supply to the $20bn Lekki-based plant was still intact.
“I can confirm that the Chairman of the Sub-Technical Committee, Zacch Adedeji, is working day and night to ensure that things go according to plans. He knows how important it is to have the agreement implemented as has been planned for the benefit of Nigerians,” Adekanmbi had stated.
