The Federal Government has authorised petroleum marketers to lift petrol directly from the Dangote refinery, bypassing the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.
In a statement on Friday, the Minister of Finance and Chairman of the Naira-crude sale implementation committee, Wale Edun, provided an update on the initiation of crude purchase and product sales in naira transactions.
The committee, chaired by Edun, held its second post-commencement review meeting on October 10 to assess the progress of the Crude Oil and Refined Products Sales in Naira initiative.
According to the statement, the direct purchasing mechanism allows marketers to negotiate commercial terms directly with the refineries, fostering a more competitive market environment and enabling a smoother supply chain for petroleum products.
The statement reads, “New Direct Purchase Model: The most significant change under the new regime is that petroleum product marketers can now purchase PMS directly from local refineries. This marks a departure from the previous arrangement where the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPCL) served as the sole purchaser and distributor of PMS from the refineries.”
“This direct purchasing mechanism allows marketers to negotiate commercial terms directly with the refineries, fostering a more competitive market environment and enabling a smoother supply chain for petroleum products.”
The transition of the NNPCL from sole buyer of petroleum products from the Dangote refinery to marketers marks a significant shift by the Federal government towards a fully deregulated oil industry.