VenturesNow

Nigeria: Dangote Refinery, govt panel agree on September fuel rollout

Published

2 months ago

August 20, 2024

A deal has been struck between the Nigerian government’s committee set up to oversee the implementation of crude oil sales to local refineries in naira and the Dangote Petroleum Refinery on the September rollout of Premium Motor Spirit, also known as petrol. Additionally, the Federal Government revealed that starting on October 1, 2024, crude oil would be sold to Dangote Refinery and other local refineries.

This was disclosed on Monday in Abuja during a meeting with the Implementation Committee by Wale Edun, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy.

A message on the finance ministry’s official X (formerly Twitter) page stated that the purpose of the gathering was to assess the status of important projects.

To ensure a seamless implementation, important roles for stakeholders were outlined at the conference. These included the African Export-Import Bank, Central Bank of Nigeria, Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, and Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority.

The post read, “The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, today led the Implementation Committee meeting on the transition to crude oil sales in naira.

“The meeting reviewed progress on key initiatives, including the upcoming commencement of naira payments for crude oil sales to the Dangote Refinery starting October 1, 2024.”

Also, the Chairman of the Technical Sub-Committee and Dr Zacch Adedeji, the Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, noted that “The first PMS delivery from Dangote is expected next month under existing agreements.”

Additionally, it said that updates on the Port Harcourt and Dangote refineries were given, and that beginning in November 2024, considerable production increases were anticipated.

To ensure that the President’s directives are being carried out as planned starting in September, the minister highlighted the need for transparency and gave the Technical Sub-Committee instructions to finalise specifics and prepare a report.

Remember that on July 29, the Federal Executive Council approved President Tinubu’s request that NNPC stop selling crude oil to regional refineries in foreign currencies.

The Federal Executive Council gave its approval to provide Nigerian refineries, starting with the Dangote refinery, 450,000 barrels intended for domestic use in exchange for Naira.

The action is intended to maintain stability in both the dollar-to-naira exchange rate and the refined gasoline pump price. According to research, Dangote Refinery currently needs fifteen cargoes of crude oil each year.

Related Topics:DANGOTE REFINERY Featured Nigeria

Click to comment

VenturesNow

IMF assessing implications of Senegal financial audit

Published

17 hours ago

October 17, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has revealed that a staff team has travelled to Senegal to begin evaluating the ramifications of data adjustments that emerged from a government audit of previous and ongoing initiatives that the IMF had sponsored.

IMF staff will continue to collaborate closely with the authorities in the upcoming weeks to assess the macroeconomic impact and lay out the next measures, the Fund said in a statement, even though the government’s findings have not yet been certified.

Last month, an audit of Senegal’s finances, commissioned by recently elected President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, revealed that the country’s deficit at the end of 2023 was over 10% of GDP, as opposed to the 5% that the previous administration had estimated.

Following the Fund’s evaluation in June, the government announced that it had chosen not to proceed with Senegal’s request for an IMF disbursement in July. Since then, the West African nation has been in talks with the IMF about corrective action.

From October 9 to October 16, an IMF staff team travelled to Senegal to examine the preliminary audit findings.

The next steps “will include assessing whether any misreporting occurred during previous and current IMF-supported programs”, the statement said.

VenturesNow

Namibia central bank drops key rate again to boost growth

Published

17 hours ago

October 17, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of Namibia’s central bank unanimously decided to cut the repo rate by 25 basis points to 7.25%, the same size of cut as at the August meeting.

The central bank cited the country’s economy’s need for additional support and the unexpectedly rapid decline in inflation as reasons for the second consecutive meeting of its main interest rate cut.

“The MPC noted the growing momentum in the international monetary policy easing cycle, the retreat in domestic inflation over the medium term, along with the recent downside surprise in the September 2024 inflation print,” Bank of Namibia Governor Johannes Gawaxab said in a statement accompanying the decision.

The nation in southern Africa saw its annual inflation decline sharply from 4.4% in August to 3.4% in September.

The central bank’s most recent meeting on Wednesday downgraded the average inflation forecast for this year from 4.7% to 4.3%.

The revision was ascribed to a more optimistic outlook for global oil prices as well as a more robust domestic currency rate.

According to the bank, credit extension to the private sector is still muted, indicating that more assistance for the home economy is necessary.
“The domestic economy, while growing at a moderate pace, was operating below full capacity,” Gawaxab said.

In 2024, growth is expected to drop to 3.1% from 4.2% in 2023.

Regarding a $750 million redemption of Eurobonds that is scheduled for late 2025, Namibia’s governor of the central bank stated that 82% of the $500 million it wishes to retire at maturity has already been put aside.

The government is still hoping to refinance the $250 million that is left! stated Gawaxab.In 2024, growth is expected to drop to 3.1% from 4.2% in 2023.