Dangote Petroleum Refinery has temporarily paused the sale of petroleum products in Naira to address discrepancies between its sales revenue and crude oil purchase obligations, which are currently priced in U.S. dollars.
In a statement issued to customers on Wednesday, the refinery’s management explained that the value of petroleum products sold in Naira had surpassed the worth of Naira-denominated crude it had received, prompting the need for the adjustment.
The statement also refuted claims circulating online that loading operations were halted due to ticketing fraud, labeling these reports as false and misleading.
The refinery’s notice clarified:
“We want to inform you that Dangote Petroleum Refinery has temporarily suspended petroleum product sales in Naira.
This step is necessary to align our sales revenue with crude oil procurement costs, which are denominated in U.S. dollars.
“Thus far, our Naira-based sales have exceeded the value of Naira-denominated crude received, which is why we are temporarily adjusting our sales currency to match the currency used for crude procurement.
“We have also seen unfounded online reports suggesting that we ceased loading operations due to a ticketing fraud issue.
These claims are entirely baseless. Our systems remain secure, and we have not encountered any fraud-related incidents.
“We remain committed to serving the Nigerian market efficiently and sustainably. Once we receive an allocation of Naira-denominated crude cargoes from NNPC, we will promptly resume petroleum product sales in Naira.”
This announcement follows recent clarifications from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited and the federal government, which denied claims that crude oil sales to Dangote and other local refineries in Naira had been stopped.
