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By, ~Onome Jackson
The naira-for-crude deal emboldened the Dangote refinery to lower the prices of PMS repeatedly, forcing the NNPC to do so even when it was affecting its margins.
Industry sources said stopping the naira-for-crude deal might be a calculated attempt to reduce the influence of the $20bn refinery, which some players in the downstream accused of planning monopolistic tendencies.
Domestic crude oil refiners argued that the halt in crude supply in naira was the latest ploy to frustrate the Dangote refinery and bring back the full importation of refined petroleum products.
The National Publicity Secretary of the Crude Oil Refinery-owners Association of Nigeria, Eche Idoko, disclosed that suspending the deal defeats the efforts of all stakeholders in the sector to achieve energy security.
He said some persons are aggrieved about the continuous reduction in petrol by the refinery and only use monopolistic talks to bring back importation as an alternative.
He said, “What the Federal Government did during the negotiations was that it shut CORAN and we are not privy to what transpired. We also don’t know the terms and conditions. It is now making it difficult for us to midwife in the conversation. Ideally, the association should have been carried along for advocacy purpose.
Dangote has been under serious pressure to source for dollars to buy crude. And this means marketers would have to buy in dollars. Whatever happens in the oil and gas sector must trickle down to the final consumers
