The extension of the sale of crude in naira to domestic refineries formed the major discussion at the meeting of the federal government committee in Abuja on Monday, March 24, 2025.

The challenges facing the policy have set the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) against the Dangote Refinery, prompting the meeting of the committee supervising the initiative.

Petrol prices rise as deal collapses

The refineries, NNPC and the federal government will hold talks to find out ways to sustain the naira-for-crude initiative amid concerns about crude availability.

Legit.ng earlier reported that the Dangote Refinery suspended the sale of petroleum products to marketers in naira as it failed to secure a commitment from NNPC for the continuation of the naira-for-crude deal.

The refinery disclosed that the reason for the sale of petroleum products in foreign currency was to avoid a forex mismatch.

The development led to a spike in the prices of petroleum products, especially petrol.

Private depot owners reportedly hiked their prices from N860 per litre to N870 due to the deal’s collapse.

NNPC is facing crude oil challenges

Meanwhile, reports by The Nation said the committee is expected to assess options presented by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) to stop the deal from total collapse and allow domestic refineries to purchase crude oil in naira.

The report quoted sources as saying that the upstream regulator was tasked to develop strategies to address the growing challenges facing the deal.

Investigations showed that NNPC’s inability to meet its crude supply obligations to domestic refineries was due to pre-existing deals it pledged to creditors.

NNPC is under pressure to perform

Per the report, the national oil company is under pressure to ramp up crude production to meet domestic demands.

It also said NNPC was reluctant not to breach the OPEC quota, thereby creating diplomatic and market tensions.

A previous report by Legit.ng said that Nigeria may attract OPEC’s wrath as it moves to boost crude production to over two million barrels daily.

Experts have warned that the inability to resolve the deadlock in the deal could erode the gains accrued so far, such as the crash in the prices of petroleum products since January 2025.