The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) has confirmed that the Dangote Petroleum Refinery lifted crude oil worth N11.20bn in July 2025, representing 32.33 per cent of its total crude oil sales for the month.
The disclosure was made in an internal document presented at the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) meeting in August and obtained by The PUNCH.
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Breakdown of July sales
According to the report, NNPC recorded total crude sales of 340,000 barrels in July, generating $22.51m, equivalent to N34.64bn at prevailing exchange rates.
NNPC Trading lifted 220,000 barrels of Antan blend crude on the vessel Ottoman Courtesy. At $63.73 per barrel, the transaction yielded $14.02m, or N21.49bn at N1,532.55/$1.
A further 20,000 barrels from the same Antan field were sold for $1.27m, translating to N1.95bn at the same rate.
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Additionally, NNPC Trading’s domestic arm sold 100,000 barrels of Okwuibome crude produced by SEEPCO on the vessel Sonangol Kalandula. At $72.09 per barrel, the sale fetched $7.21m, equivalent to N11.20bn at N1,553.27/$1.
The document confirmed that Dangote Refinery was the offtaker for the Okwuibome cargo.
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First documented sale under renewed agreement
This marked the first recorded crude sale by NNPC to the refinery since the renewal of the naira-for-crude agreement in April 2025.
Earlier reports indicated that in the first quarter of 2025, NNPC generated N336.37bn from crude oil sales, with Dangote Refinery accounting for N107.44bn of that amount, or more than 32 per cent.
Between January and July 2025, the refinery received crude worth N118.64bn under the arrangement.
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Exchange rates and policy framework
The transactions were executed using exchange rates recommended by the African Export-Import Bank (Afrexim Bank). One of the documents stated: “The Dangote domestic lifting is payable in naira based on Afrexim Bank’s advised exchange rate.”
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) had in July 2024 directed NNPC to sell crude to Dangote Refinery in naira rather than US dollars, initially for six months. The policy aimed to reduce pressure on foreign reserves and improve domestic fuel supply.
Sales of crude oil and refined products in naira commenced on 1 October 2024.
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Implementation challenges
In March 2025, Dangote Refinery suspended sales of refined petroleum products in naira, citing a “mismatch between our sales proceeds and our crude oil purchase obligations, which are currently denominated in US dollars”.
Following delays, FEC reaffirmed that the initiative was not temporary but a “key policy directive designed to support sustainable local refining”.
