Speculations over fuel price hike as Dangote stops petrol sale in Naira

As the Dangote Petroleum Refinery temporarily suspends the sale of petroleum products in Naira, Nigerians are speculating about a possible rise in the cost of premium energy items like fuel and diesel.

The $20 billion refinery claimed that the value of the naira-denominated crude it received from the NNPCL had been surpassed by the sales of its products in naira.

“This decision is necessary to avoid a mismatch between our sales proceeds and our crude oil purchase obligations, which are currently denominated in US dollars,” the company said in a statement on Wednesday.

According to the $20 billion refinery in Lagos, the value of its naira-denominated crude received from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has been surpassed by the sales of its products in naira.

“We have to temporarily change our sales currency to match our crude procurement currency as a result,” the business said.

The refinery said it remained committed to serving the Nigerian market and would resume the sale of its product to the local market in Naira as soon as it received crude cargoes from the NNPCL in Naira.

It said that as soon as they receive an allocation of naira-denominated crude cargoes from NNPC, “we will promptly resume petroleum product sales in naira.”

The announcement by the refinery comes amid its price war with the NNPCL.

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In July 2024, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) ordered the NNPCL to sell crude oil to Dangote Refinery and other nearby refineries in naira rather than US dollars in an effort to ease the pressure on the US dollar and ensure the price stability of petroleum goods.

The NNPCL announced at the beginning of March 2025 that its six-month contract with the Dangote Refinery for the sale of oil in Naira was set to expire in March 2025.

However, the state corporation stated that negotiations were underway to replace the deal and that Dangote Refinery has been able to access more than 48 million barrels of crude oil since October 2024 through the Naira-denominated agreement.

The NNPCL also said it had made over 84 million barrels of crude oil available to the private refinery since it commenced operations in 2023.

Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, faces energy challenges, with all its state-owned refineries non-operational for decades until 2024. The country was heavily reliant on imported refined petroleum products, with the state-run NNPCL being the major importer of the essential commodities.