To prevent a discrepancy between its naira-denominated sales income and its dollar-denominated crude oil purchase obligations, the Dangote refinery has temporarily halted the sale of petroleum products in naira.
This ruling may result in increased costs at the pump since oil traders will now have to pay in dollars for goods like gasoline and diesel.
According to the refinery, the move was made to synchronize the selling and purchasing currencies rather than because of fraud claims, as has been reported.
The company has reaffirmed its commitment to the Nigerian market and stated that it will resume sales in Naira as soon as it receives allocations of Naira-denominated crude from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), the state society.
In order to overcome the restrictions on provisioning, the Nigerian government had mandated in 2024 that sales of crude oil to local refineries be made in naira, with refined products being sold on the internal market for a six-month initial period starting in October.