The Chief Executive Officer of Dangote Refinery, David Bird, said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s government’s Naira-for-Crude deal with the plant is a “success,” but noted that the refinery still imports 65 percent of its crude.

He made this known at a news conference on Wednesday, stating that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company, NNPC, currently supplies the 650,000-barrel-per-day refinery with 35–40 percent of its crude.

According to him, the president of the refinery is working to increase crude allocation to the plant.

“On the crude-for-naira deal, right now, that’s 30 to 35 percent of our crude supply. We hope that we can increase that.

“The president (Aliko Dangote) is in ongoing discussions with NNPC to try and increase that level of allocation.

“We think it is incredibly successful. We appreciate that government support,” he said.

He clarified that the company does not import finished products, but rather imports intermediate feedstocks and components to boost its production capacity.

“I can guarantee you we are not importing finished products. I am a refinery. I have no interest in importing finished products, but I will be importing intermediate feedstocks and components,” he said.

Recall that the Nigerian government began the Naira-for-Crude sale deal with Dangote Refinery in October 2024 to reduce production costs.

The deal faced challenges in 2025, but in April the federal government announced its indefinite continuation.

Meanwhile, despite the Naira-for-Crude deal, global crude prices have continued to affect domestic petrol prices. For instance, in recent weeks, Dangote Refinery’s hike in petrol gantry prices and the subsequent nationwide rise in retail fuel prices to between N839 and N905 per liter demonstrated the impact of global oil prices on domestic costs.