The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has announced that it has initiated the process of terminating crude oil swap contracts.

Reuters reported that NNPCL said it will now pay cash to private companies for petrol imports. Mele Kyari, NNPCL's Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) added that less petrol will be imported by NNPC while private companies will import the bulk.

Kyari said;

“In the last four months, we practically terminated all direct sale direct purchase (DSDP) contracts. And we now have an arm’s-length process where we can pay cash for the imports.”

On Nigeria's crude oil production, Kyari said the country's total crude oil output was 1.56 million barrels per day (bpd) as of Friday, June 2. Due to illegal refining and oil theft, the country has struggled to meet its Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) quota of 1.742 million bpd.

Nigeria’s oil production fell below the one million mark in April 2023, as output tumbled to 998,602 bpd.