The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun, says the Dangote Refinery will begin the distribution of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) on Sunday.
Edun, who was represented by the Executive Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Dr Zacch Adedeji, said this at a news conference in Abuja on Friday.
“I am glad to announce that all agreements have been completed and loading of the first batch of PMS from the Dangote Refinery will commence on Sunday, Sept. 15.
“From Oct. 1, NNPC Ltd. will commence the supply of about 385kbpd of crude oil to the Dangote Refinery, to be paid for in Naira. In return, the Dangote Refinery will supply PMS and diesel of equivalent value to the domestic market, which will be paid in Naira.
“Diesel will be sold in Naira by the Dangote Refinery to any interested off-taker. PMS will only be sold to NNPC, NNPC will then sell to various marketers for now,” he said.
Edun said that all associated regulatory costs (NPA, NIMASA, etc.) would also be paid for in Naira.
“We are also setting up a one-stop shop that will coordinate service provision from all regulatory, and security agencies, and other stakeholders to ensure a smooth implementation of this initiative. This will be located in Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA). Lagos.
“The technical committee that worked to flesh out this initiative will transition to an implementation execution and monitoring committee that will be working out of Lagos for the next three to six months,” he said.
Edun recalled that the Federal Executive Council (FEC), under the leadership of President Bola Tinubu, approved the sale of crude oil to local refineries in Naira and the corresponding purchase of petroleum products in Naira.
He said that the initiative would help reduce pressure on the Naira, eliminate unnecessary transaction costs, and improve the availability of petroleum products in the country.
The minister said that the implementation committee chaired by him, and the other technical committee had worked intensely with NNPCL and Dangote Refinery, to fashion out the details of the modalities for the implementation of FEC approval.
Edun chaired the presidential committee on the sales of crude oil and refined products for domestic consumption in Naira.
Meanwhile, ahead of Sunday’s loading of fuel, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has deployed over 100 trucks to the Dangote Refinery in preparation for the exercise.
NNPCL announced this in a short post on its X handle on Saturday.
The post was attached with several photos that showed hundreds of trucks stationed within the premises of the refinery in Lagos State.
NNPC wrote: “In preparation for the Dangote Refinery’s scheduled petrol loading on Sunday, September 15, 2024, NNPC Ltd. has been mobilizing trucks to the refinery’s fuel loading gantry in Ibeju-Lekki.
“As of Saturday afternoon, NNPC Ltd. had deployed over 100 trucks, with hundreds more en route.”
Politics Nigeria recalls that the federal government had announced that the supply of petrol from the country’s indigenous refinery would commence on September 15, after it reached an agreement on pricing and supply terms.
The Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and member of the Presidential Committee on the Sale of Crude Oil and Refined Products, Zacch Adedeji made the announcement on Friday, September 13th, 2024.
Adedeji said that the NNPCL will be the sole off-taker of petrol from the Dangote Refinery, while other marketers would pay the product from the national oil company.