The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) is consulting stakeholders on plans to introduce a domestic crude oil and gas swap arrangement aimed at reducing costs and improving the availability of petroleum products in Nigeria.

The commission’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, disclosed this during a courtesy visit to the NUPRC in Abuja on Thursday.

Eyesan said the proposed arrangement was being developed in consultation with key players across the industry and would help address challenges affecting domestic supply.

“The NUPRC is consulting widely with stakeholders in the industry on the idea of a domestic crude oil and gas swap that would reduce cost and increase availability of products in the country,”

she said.

According to a statement issued on Friday, Eyesan explained that once finalised, the arrangement would strengthen compliance with the domestic crude supply obligation (DCSO) and domestic gas supply obligation.

She added that the initiative would also be coordinated with the Gas Aggregation Company Nigeria (GACN) Limited.

The development comes as the NUPRC continues efforts to refine the DCSO framework and improve transparency and efficiency in the domestic crude supply system while sustaining oil production and ensuring adequate crude supply to local refineries.

On May 6, the commission said it would continue to refine the DCSO framework to achieve these objectives.

The proposed domestic swap arrangement also comes against the backdrop of previous efforts to reform Nigeria’s crude-for-products swap system.

In June 2023, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited announced that it had commenced the termination of crude oil swap contracts and would instead pay cash for petrol imports.