FEC tells NNPCL: Sell crude oil to Dangote, other Naira refineries.

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has authorised the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited to sell crude oil to Dangote Refinery and other local refineries in naira, not US dollars.

President Bola Tinubu presided over a Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting in Abuja on Monday, during which Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) chief Zack Adedeji presented his findings.

He stated that the policy will cut the country’s foreign expenditures and stabilise the pump prices of petrol, diesel and other products in Nigeria.

Adedeji stated that the FEC directed the state-owned NNPCL to immediately begin full execution of the mandate to increase domestic production of refined petroleum products in Nigeria.

The revenue head further noted that the Tinubu administration required the usage of naira rather than US dollars for the sale of refined products from Dangote Refinery to oil marketers and distributors.

Aliko Dangote, a prominent industrialist and the owner of Dangote Refinery, accused the authorities and international oil companies of impeding crude delivery to his $20 billion plant in the Lekki Free Trade Zone near Lagos.

Regulatory officials later questioned the quality of petroleum products produced at the Dangote Refinery, but the billionaire industrialist argued that his refinery’s products were superior to those imported by marketers.

Dangote began operations at his massive factory in Lagos last December, producing 350,000 barrels per day. The refinery aims to reach its maximum capacity of 650,000 barrels per day by the end of the year.

The refinery has begun supplying diesel and aviation fuel to the country’s marketers, with petrol supply set to begin in August despite regulatory opposition.