According to Mele Kyari, Group Chief Executive Officer of Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), private companies may start importing petroleum in Nigeria.
The NNPC CEO disclosed this and stated that the business intends to stop using crude oil exchange agreements and switch to paying for refined products with cash.
This was said by Kyari in a Reuters interview on June 3, 2023, a Saturday.
The president’s attempts to deregulate the petroleum industry and lessen the financial burden on the government, he claimed, are in line with the strategy.
Kyari said:
“In the last four months, we practically terminated all Direct Sale Direct Purchase (DSDP) contracts. And we now have an arm’s-length process where we can pay cash for the imports.
“This is the first time NNPC has said it is terminating crude swap contracts. By importing less gasoline as private companies import the bulk, NNPC can pay for its purchases in cash.”
Reuters reports that NNPC was still rationing crude for fuel swaps for July loading, but less than in previous months.
The NNPC also allocated crude oil to the consortium’s swap contracts in its March reports.