Federal Government has authorised petroleum marketers to directly obtain petrol from the Dangote refinery without needing to go through the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited.
Gatekeepers News reports that this development is a shift from the previous arrangement where NNPC was the exclusive off-taker of Dangote’s fuel.
In a statement released on Friday, Wale Edun, the Minister of Finance and Chairman of the Naira-crude sale implementation committee, provided an update on the commencement of crude purchase and product sales in naira transactions.
The Implementation Committee, led by Edun, conducted its second post-commencement review meeting on October 10 to assess the progress of the initiative for Crude Oil and Refined Products Sales in naira.
“The committee is pleased to report a successful transition of operations in line with the directive issued by the Federal Executive Council. This directive has established a robust framework for local production and distribution of crude oil and refined products for local consumption in naira.
“With this mechanism now in full operation, along with the commencement of local production, we are well-positioned to transition to a fully deregulated market for all petroleum products.
“Moving forward, petroleum product marketers are now able to purchase PMS directly from local refineries without the intermediary role of NNPC. Marketers are encouraged to initiate direct purchases from refineries on mutually negotiated commercial terms, which will promote competition and improve market efficiency,” the statement said.
Edun noted that the government remained confident that, in the long term, these measures would create better market conditions for the benefit of all Nigerians.
