NNPC Agrees $6b Oil Swaps Deal

By Dipo Olowookere

Reports say the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is on the verge of sealing $6 billion oil swaps deal with both local and foreign investors.

The agreement, when finalised, would allow the investors bring into the country petrol and diesel in exchange for about 330,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil from the state oil firm.

The deal would have been signed in April, but it was delayed to allow the NNPC and the oil traders negotiate the fuel specifications, among other issues.

This development is under the Direct Sale-Direct Purchase Agreements (DSDP) formerly known as Offshore crude oil Processing Agreements (OPAs).

When finally completed, the deal would be expected to improve the supply of fuel in the country.

Recently, the Minister of State for Petroleum, Mr Ibe Kachikwu, said government was working hard to still keep the price of petrol at the present rate of N145 per litre.

It was initially speculated that the Federal Government would increase the pump price, but the NNPC refuted this, assuring Nigerians that nothing of such was in the pipeline.