The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, says the Dangote refinery will begin the distribution of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), otherwise known as petrol, on Sunday, September 15, 2024.

Edun, who was represented by the Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Dr Zacch Adedeji, disclosed this at a press conference in Abuja on Friday, September 13.

The minister said: “I am glad to announce that all agreements have been completed and loading of the first batch of PMS from the Dangote refinery will commence on Sunday, September 15.

“From October 1, NNPCL will commence the supply of about 385kbpd of crude oil to the Dangote Refinery, to be paid for in Naira. In return, the Dangote refinery will supply PMS and diesel of equivalent value to the domestic market, to be paid in naira.

“Diesel will be sold in Naira by the Dangote refinery to any interested off-taker. PMS will only be sold to NNPCL, NNPCL will then sell to various marketers for now.”

Edun said all associated regulatory costs (NPA and NIMASA, among others) would also be paid for in naira.

He added: “We are also setting up a one-stop shop that will coordinate service provision from all regulatory, and security agencies, and other stakeholders to ensure a smooth implementation of this initiative. This will be located in the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA). Lagos.

NNPCL: We’re not sole distributor for Dangote refinery

“The technical committee that worked to flesh out this initiative will transition to an implementation execution and monitoring committee that will be working out of Lagos for the next three to six months.”

Edun recalled that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) , under the leadership of President Bola Tinubu, approved the sale of crude oil to local refineries in naira and corresponding purchase of petroleum products in naira.

He said the initiative would help reduce pressure on the naira, eliminate unnecessary transaction costs, and improve the availability of petroleum products in the country.

The minister said that the implementation committee chaired by him and the other technical committee had worked intensely with NNPCL and the Dangote refinery to fashion out the details of the modalities for the implementation of FEC approval.

Edun said: “We would sincerely like to thank President Tinubu for championing this novel initiative and assure him that he can count on us to implement his vision.

“I would also like to thank everyone for the hard work and patriotism exhibited over the last couple of weeks.”

Edun chaired the presidential committee on the sales of crude oil and refined products for domestic consumption in naira.

The Star