Sales of crude oil in naira yet to begin – Association of refineries

The Crude Oil Refinery-owners Association of Nigeria (CORAN) has said that none of their members have begun receiving the sales of crude oil in the local currency, naira.  

Echie Idoko, the Public Secretary of CORAN, made this disclosure in an interview with Channels TV on Wednesday.  

Recall that President Bola Tinubu through the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved the sales of crude oil to the Dangote Refinery in the local currency to help create a seamless approach to accessibility and supply to the $19 billion petrochemical plant.  

Idoko, however, said that despite the pronouncement, steps needed to be taken to ensure the implementation of the new mandate by FEC.  

He said there have to be guidelines from the regulatory agencies that will explain the process of accessibility of crude in naira. 

“We have mentioned where we are on several fronts. As it stands right now, none of our members have started uplifting crude oil in naira. Of course, we did mention that the pronunment  was welcoming, but there were still a few steps that had to be taken for it to become implementable. It was just a federal executive council statement. There is a need for a regulatory framework that would enable us to access crude in naira.  

“There has to be a guideline as to how we can access. We have to know exactly what quantity is coming to us in naira. All those details have to be worked out. We know it’s a recent pronouncement, so we will give the government the benefit of the doubt.  

“We are hoping that in the coming days, they will be sitting down with us as stakeholders because you can’t shave a man’s head in his absence. We are hoping that our members should be part and parcel of the processes,” the CORAN chairman said.