Dangote refinery crude sale hit ₦219.38bn in Q1 2025, with the Federal Government earning $1.59m from crude exports amid stalled local supply deals

[dropcap]D[/dropcap]angote refinery crude sale amounted to ₦219.38bn in the first four months of 2025, according to internal records from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited obtained by The PUNCH.

Also read: Dangote Refinery partners reduce petrol price to N865 amidst growing competition

The figures underscore a growing but strained relationship between the Federal Government and the Lagos-based mega-refinery, even as official crude exports brought in just $1.59m in April due to temporary halts in domestic allocations.

The sale involved nine cargoes totalling 1.9 million barrels, sourced from the Okwuibome field operated by Sterling Oil and Nigerian Agip Exploration under production sharing contracts.

Crude was priced between $74.87 and $80.34 per barrel, with naira payments tied to Afrexim Bank’s advised exchange rates, ranging from ₦1,501.22\$ to ₦1,562.91\$.

Documents submitted at the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) showed that crude supply surged over 538% from January to April—₦17.52bn in January, ₦32.95bn in February, ₦56.97bn in March, and a record ₦111.95bn in April.

Despite this, the refinery’s operators temporarily halted naira sales of petroleum products in March, citing misalignment between sales proceeds and dollar-denominated crude purchase obligations.

“We must temporarily adjust our sales currency to align with our crude procurement currency,” Dangote Petroleum Refinery said in a public notice.

This is the time to work closely with Dangote and ensure affordability for Nigerians.

Twenty-one days later, the Federal Executive Council ordered full enforcement of the naira-for-crude oil supply initiative, describing it as “a key policy directive designed to support sustainable local refining.”

However, the refinery continues to argue that supply remains insufficient, forcing it to import from the US.

In parallel, export earnings from international crude sales brought in ₦231.47bn between January and April—only marginally ahead of the Dangote refinery crude sale within the same timeframe.

Industry expert Hammed Fashola, Vice President of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, urged the Tinubu administration to stabilise crude pricing for local refiners.

“This is the time to work closely with Dangote and ensure affordability for Nigerians,” he said.

Meanwhile, crude exports plummeted in April. The government earned just $1.59m from exports compared to $79.07m in March.

Export crude receipts dropped 97.97% month-on-month, from ₦771.46bn in March to ₦15.63bn in April, while domestic crude inflows fell to zero.

Also read: Dangote Refinery to begin free nationwide fuel distribution August 15

Gross receipts from oil and gas sales stood at $6.25bn in April, equivalent to ₦1.01tn, but the total revenue transferred to the Federation was just ₦120.93bn—a 41% drop from March.