The Chief Executive Officer of Dangote Refinery, David Bird, has clarified that the Federal Government's Crude-for-Naira policy is primarily designed to stabilize Nigeria's foreign exchange market, rather than provide direct financial advantages or subsidies to the refinery. This policy, which officially took effect from October 1, 2024, was announced by Nigeria’s Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, as a strategic move approved by the Federal Executive Council to boost local currency usage in the oil sector and enhance economic stability. Bird emphasized that the program has been widely misunderstood, noting that the refinery continues to purchase crude oil at full international benchmark prices, without any discounts or subsidies, despite transacting domestic crude in local currency.

Despite the policy's success in stabilizing foreign exchange pressures, the Dangote Refinery faces significant challenges related to crude supply volumes and quality allocations. Bird revealed that while the refinery should ideally receive about 13 to 15 crude cargoes per month to meet Nigeria's domestic fuel requirements, it currently receives only five. This severe underperformance against pre-agreed volume contracts, coupled with frequent crude quality mismatches where the refinery does not receive its preferred grades, compels it to source Nigerian crude from the international market. Consequently, the refinery ends up paying premiums exceeding $18 per barrel for these same Nigerian crude grades, a situation Bird describes as