Presidential spokesperson, Femi Adesina, has told Reuters
News Agency on Tuesday that President Muhammadu Buhari has given approval for
the immediate cancellation of the agreements.
This means that all offshore crude oil processing agreements
and crude oil swap deals for refined petroleum products between the Nigerian
National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and oil traders around the world have
been cancelled by the Federal Government.
The Presidential Transition Committee led by Ahmed Joda, had
recommended to the Buhari administration to carry out a comprehensive audit of
all Offshore Processing Agreements, (OPAs) and Crude Oil Swap deals entered by
the NNPC.
The committee had said the audit would help government
identify and claim any reimbursements for excess crude oil lifted under the
controversial OPA and Swap arrangements to establish the quantity of products
delivered based on a fair and transparent audit process.
"Mr. President has approved the cancellation of the oil swap contracts. Mr. President has publicly expressed his displeasure over this oil swap deal," Femi Adesina said in response to enquiries by Reuters.
The deals, initiated by the Goodluck Jonathan
administration, were designed to supply petroleum products for crude oil
refining to cushion the negative impact of continued reliance on imports
domestic consumption.
A source close to the NNPC, who pleaded anonymity, said the
cancellation affected contracts for more than half of the 445,000 barrels per
day of crude normally allocated for domestic refining usually used under the
products swaps deals.
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