FG, Dangote Refinery strike dollar-for-naira petrol swap deal

The Federal Government and Dangote Petroleum Refinery have agreed that the government will supply dollars in exchange for naira from petrol sales. A company official said the deal was reached on Friday, July 31, 2026, after the refinery halted naira fuel sales because it was not getting dollars from the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Refinery had stopped naira sales

The refinery had earlier suspended naira-denominated fuel sales because the CBN was not converting naira receipts into dollars. This was even though the refinery had already paid for crude in hard currency, a management official told journalists on condition of anonymity.

"As you know, we had earlier stopped selling in naira as we were not getting the dollars from the Central Bank of Nigeria for the products we sold for naira, even though we had paid in US dollars for the crude. Now, we have been assured that we will be given the dollars," the official said.

The source added that the dollar amounts involved run into billions, pointing to crude purchases from suppliers in the United States, Angola, Libya, Ghana, and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, none of whom accept naira as payment.

Shortfall under naira-for-crude scheme

The problem is a persistent gap between what the refinery was promised under the naira-for-crude scheme and what it received. The arrangement was originally meant to deliver about 13 million barrels of crude to the refinery each month. In practice, monthly deliveries had dropped to around four million barrels, forcing the refinery to source the remainder from international markets using dollars.

The refinery imported a combined 40.40 million barrels between May and June 2026, spending roughly $4.48bn on feedstock. May alone accounted for 21.47 million barrels at a total landed cost of $2.68bn, with a further 18.93 million barrels worth $1.80bn arriving in June.

Background of the deal

The naira-for-crude deal was originally proposed by President Bola Tinubu at a Federal Executive Council meeting on July 29, 2024, as a way to stabilise domestic fuel prices. The FEC adopted the proposal, designating the Dangote refinery as the pilot for the scheme, covering 450,000 barrels earmarked for local consumption.

The arrangement has had a turbulent history. NNPCL suspended it in the first quarter of 2025, triggering another halt in naira fuel sales at the refinery, before the Federal Government intervened and ordered it to continue indefinitely.

NNPCL dispute continues

The Dangote Group has also pushed back against claims by NNPCL that it fully honoured its commitments under the programme. A senior executive told Petroleumprice.ng that the refinery received only three of the 14 cargoes anticipated under the supply framework. NNPCL spokesman Andy Odeh had told PUNCH that the company supplied every available naira-denominated crude cargo and had not withheld any feedstock.

For the naira and consumers, the fresh dollar-for-naira swap could ease pressure on the refinery's operations and keep petrol available in naira. It also means the CBN must now make good on dollar supply promises, or the crunch will likely return.