The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has reacted to recent reports circulating on social media regarding the alleged unilateral termination of the crude oil sales agreement in Naira between with Dangote Refinery.

Clarifying the situation in a statement on Monday, the NNPCL Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Olufemi Soneye, said the contract for the sale of crude oil in Naira was structured as a six-month agreement, subject to availability, and expires at the end of March 2025.

He said that discussions are currently ongoing towards emplacing a new contract.

According to Soneye, NNPCL has made over 48 million barrels of crude oil available to Dangote Refinery since October 2024 under this arrangement.

He added that in aggregate, the NNPCL has made over 84 million barrels of crude oil available to the Refinery since its commencement of operations in 2023.

He said that NNPCL remains committed to supplying crude oil for local refining based on mutually agreed terms and conditions.

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) had in July 2024, directed the NNPCL to sell crude oil to Dangote Refinery and other local refineries in naira and not in United States greenback.

The move was to reduce the strain on the country’s foreign spendings and stabilise the pump price of petrol, diesel and other products in Nigeria.