Lagos, Nigeria – Dangote Petroleum Refinery don announce temporary halt for sale of petroleum products for Naira as of March 19, 2025. Dis decision come as dem need am to avoid mismatch between wetin dem dey selling and the crude oil purchase obligations wey dey in U.S. dollars.
For statement wey dem send to petroleum marketers on Wednesday afternoon, Dangote Refinery clarify say sales for Naira don exceed the value of the Naira-denominated crude wey dem don receive so far. Dem go adjust di sales currency to match wetin dem dey pay for crude.
The management talk say: “We wish to inform you that Dangote Petroleum Refinery has temporarily halted the sale of petroleum products in Naira. This decision is necessary to avoid a mismatch between our sales proceeds and our crude oil purchase obligations, which are currently denominated in U.S. dollars.”
Dem go also talk say online reports wey claim say dem stop loading because of ticketing fraud na malicious falsehood. Di statement go further talk: “Our systems are robust and we have had no fraud issues. We remain committed to serving the Nigerian market efficiently and sustainably.”
Vice President of Dangote Refinery, Hassan Dangote, add say di company dey strive to maintain effective service to di Nigerian market while dem wait for allocation of Naira-denominated crude cargoes from Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). “As soon as we receive an allocation of Naira-denominated crude cargoes from NNPC, we will promptly resume petroleum product sales in Naira,” he said.
Di temporary suspension fit have implications on di pricing and availability of petroleum products across Nigeria, especially as di last price stand at N815 per litre while NNPC dey work on some agreements with Dangote.
For months, price of petrol wey people dey call premium motor spirit (PMS) don dey change due to market dynamics and competition between Dangote and NNPC, where e recently drop to at least N860 per litre. Dis latest development may indicate say negotiations on di Naira-for-crude deal dey face challenges.
Dangote Refinery don make e clear say dem dey focus on alignment of di currency sales to avoid further issues. Di stakeholders and customers dey urge to keep calm while di company dey adjust for di situation.
