The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has disclosed earnings of ₦336.37 billion from crude oil sales in Q1 2025, with over ₦107 billion worth of supplies going to the Dangote Petroleum Refinery alone.
According to internal NNPCL documents reviewed at Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) meetings and obtained, seven crude shipments totaling 915,821 barrels were delivered to the Lagos-based refinery between January and March 2025.
The deliveries were conducted under the Federal Government’s naira-for-crude policy, which mandates local crude sales in naira to boost domestic refining and reduce foreign exchange pressure.
The Dangote Refinery, with its 650,000-barrel-per-day capacity, is the biggest beneficiary so far.
Crude was priced between $74.87 and $80.34 per barrel and converted to naira using exchange rates from ₦1,501.22/$ to ₦1,562.91/$, as advised by Afreximbank.
In total, the Dangote refinery’s transactions reached $70.54 million, amounting to ₦107.44 billion.
Breakdown of Dangote Shipments include, Gulf Loyalty (Decemer 2, 2024): 149,737 barrels at ₦17.52bn, Almi Voyager (January 3, 2025): 266,084 barrels at ₦32.95bn, Sonangol Kalandula (February 15, 2025): 500,000 barrels at ₦56.96bn
While the refinery temporarily halted naira payments in March over currency mismatch concerns, the Federal Government reinstated the policy, confirming it as a long-term strategy. In response, Dangote Refinery slashed the ex-depot price of petrol to ₦835 per litre, its third cut in six weeks.
The crude supplied to Dangote came from the Okwuibome field, operated by Sterling Oil Exploration & Energy Production Company (SEEPCO) under a Production Sharing Contract (PSC).
However, SEEPCO is currently under investigation by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) over alleged anti-labour practices and expatriate quota abuses.
The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) also staged protests, accusing SEEPCO of sidelining Nigerian professionals in favour of foreign workers.
The NCDMB confirmed it previously sanctioned the firm and has demanded compliance submissions for review.
In addition to domestic sales, NNPCL earned ₦228.94 billion from exporting 1.95 million barrels of crude to foreign refiners in Q1 2025.
These shipments included Egina, Erha, and Forcados Blend grades, with export earnings totaling $151.43 million.
Key exports included: Egina (February 20, Apache), 990,158 barrels from $78.15m to ₦120.04bn, Erha (January 6, Aquafreedom), 550,501 barrels from $41.23m to ₦61.5bn Egina (Decemer 24, Baghdad), 400,000 barrels $31.13m to ₦45.99bn.
Export sales were settled using CBN-approved exchange rates, ranging between ₦1,477.22 and ₦1,535.82 per dollar—lower than the Afreximbank rates used for domestic supplies.
The Federal Government has formed a technical committee involving the Ministry of Finance, NNPCL, and Dangote Refinery to refine pricing models and ensure continued implementation of the naira-for-crude framework.
As Nigeria leans into domestic refining and foreign exchange conservation, the Q1 results highlight both the progress and growing complexities of energy sector reforms.
NNPC Limited generated ₦336bn from crude oil sales in Q1 2025, with Dangote Refinery accounting for ₦107bn under the naira-for-crude supply policy.
