Nigeria’s crude-for-naira arrangement has failed to guarantee adequate domestic crude supply, oil and gas expert Victor Udoh says, pointing to Dangote Petroleum Refinery’s import of roughly 39.9 million barrels of crude at a combined cost of about $4.43 billion in May and June alone.
“The crude for Naira has not worked. I’m going to speak with facts this morning,” Udoh said, citing figures showing the refinery imported about 21 million barrels for $2.6 billion in May and another 18.9 million barrels for $1.83 billion in June. “It shows you, if the crude for Naira is working, they will not spend about $5 billion in two months to bring in crude,” he said, questioning how much crude Dangote is actually receiving through the naira exchange arrangement versus what it must still import.
Udoh urged the federal government to boost crude allocations to the refinery under the policy if existing volumes are insufficient, while dismissing suggestions that Nigeria’s recent production gains are exaggerated. He said the country’s long-standing output problems stemmed mainly from crude theft and vandalism, and that improved protection of transport infrastructure has driven the recent gradual increase in production — though Nigeria remains below its 2026 budget benchmark of 1.84 million barrels a day even as it nears its OPEC quota.
He also flagged long-standing crude swap agreements as a factor undermining the naira-for-crude policy’s effectiveness, and called on regulators to ensure pump prices respond more quickly to swings in international crude prices. While crediting the Dangote refinery for significantly improving Nigeria’s energy security, Udoh said regulators must stay vigilant to prevent investors from exploiting market conditions at consumers’ expense.
Source: (arise.tv)