President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday stepped up the ongoing reforms in the oil industry with the cancellation of offshore processing and crude swap deals for refined products between Nigeria and oil merchants.

The decision was disclosed yesterday in Abuja by the President’s spokesman, Mr. Femi Adesina. The deals, initiated in January by Buhari’s predecessor, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, were designed to supply gasoline for crude as the country depends on imports for the bulk of its domestic consumption.

In an effort to end the endemic shortage of gasoline in Nigerian filling stations, the last administration allocated 210,000 barrels per day of crude to swap for products in 2015.

NNPC said President Buhari cancelled contracts for roughly half of the 445,000 barrels per day of crude earmarked for Nigeria’s refineries, the amount refiners’ use in the products swaps deals.

“Mr. President has approved the cancellation of the oil swap contracts. He has publicly expressed his displeasure over this oil swap deal.

“The government may not have completely dumped the idea of swaps but the aim is to re-evaluate the whole contracts terminated to extract some favourable terms,” he said.

Read More: nigerianpilot