The Technical Sub-Committee on the Naira-for-Crude Policy convened on Thursday at the Ministry of Finance Headquarters in Abuja to review recent developments and reinforce its commitment to the policy framework, a senior government source disclosed to journalists.
The meeting, which was attended virtually by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, also included key stakeholders such as Zacch Adedeji, the Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS); the Chief Financial Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC); the Executive Commissioner of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA); and several other senior representatives from key industry players, including the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Dangote Petroleum Refinery, NNPC Trading Ltd., and the Coordinator of NNPC Refineries.
According to the source, the NNPC provided a detailed crude delivery report outlining the volumes of crude allocated for domestic refining under the Naira-for-Crude policy. The NMDPRA also presented a report on domestic oil production, highlighting operations at major local refineries such as the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, NNPC’s Warri Refinery, and Port Harcourt Refinery. The NUPRC further contributed an update on crude oil availability to ensure that local refineries have a steady supply.
Representatives from Dangote Refinery and NNPC Refineries also updated the committee on the operational status of local refineries.
This meeting comes on the heels of reports that the NNPC had initiated fresh negotiations with Dangote Petroleum Refinery over the renewal of the Naira-for-Crude agreement, which is set to expire on March 31, 2025. These talks follow earlier reports suggesting that the NNPC had temporarily suspended the Naira-for-Crude deal due to forward-sales of crude oil, a claim the corporation denied. The NNPC clarified that the initial six-month deal had been ongoing since October 2024, with approximately 48 million barrels of crude supplied to the Dangote refinery for the production of refined products.
According to the NNPC, the agreement has helped improve supply, save foreign exchange on petroleum product imports, and reduce pump prices. During the meeting, Zacch Adedeji, the Chairman of the Technical Sub-Committee, reiterated that the government was firmly committed to the policy. He emphasized that there were no plans to terminate the agreement, citing substantial evidence supporting the policy’s success and its potential to continue benefiting the national economy.
