The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has ended its importation of petroleum products, stating that it is ready to begin patronizing local refineries, including the Dangote refinery.
The group chief executive officer of NNPC, Mele Kyari, disclosed this while speaking at the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists’ conference in Lagos.
He also debunked rumours that NNPC was undermining the Dangote refinery by refusing to sell crude in naira, stating that it makes no difference to the company whether they buy in naira or dollar.
News About Nigeria reports that this move is coming after President Bola Tinubu’s recent statement that Nigeria spends around N2 trillion monthly on fuel imports.
Tinubu suggested that transitioning to compressed natural gas (CNG) could save Nigeria this cost, freeing funds for critical investments.
It is worthy to note that despite being an oil-producing nation, Nigeria has relied on imported fuel due to limited refining capacity.
He however, maintained that local sourcing will reduce Nigeria’s reliance on foreign exchange and curb inflation pressures from fuel imports.
While noting that over 50 percent of the population lacks electricity access, and 70 percent lacks access to clean fuel, Kyari stressed that the NNPC is tasked with ensuring domestic energy supply and recently settled a $2.4 billion cash-call debt to international oil companies.
He acknowledged that subsidy removal has allowed NNPC to refocus on its upstream operations, which subsidy expenses had compromised.
“This removal lets us sustain energy production affordably,” he stated.
Kyari further revealed that by early 2025, Nigeria will have 12 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) mother stations and a mini Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) plant to enhance local power supply and fuel accessibility.
