The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has approved the full repatriation of export proceeds by International Oil Companies (IOCs), granting them unrestricted access to 100 per cent of their foreign exchange earnings through authorised dealer banks.
The directive, issued in a circular from the bank’s Trade and Exchange Department and
signed by its director, Dr Musa Nakorji, was published on the apex bank’s website on Wednesday.
According to the CBN, the decision forms part of ongoing reforms aimed at improving liquidity and stability in Nigeria’s foreign exchange market.
The move, it added, represents a clear shift from a policy introduced in 2024, which required oil firms to repatriate only half of their export proceeds immediately, with the balance held for 90 days before access was granted.
In the circular, the bank recalled that earlier measures allowed authorised dealer banks to cash pool 50 per cent of repatriated export proceeds on behalf of IOCs, while the remaining portion was temporarily retained.
However, the CBN said the latest adjustment was designed to further liberalise the market in response to prevailing conditions.
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It confirmed that oil companies are now permitted unfettered access to their repatriated export proceeds.
Under the new framework, IOCs may repatriate 100 per cent of their export earnings through authorised dealer banks, which are required to ensure proper documentation and submit monthly reports to the Director of the Trade and Exchange Department.
The bank also made it explicit that the new directive overrides all previous circulars on cash pooling arrangements for oil companies and takes immediate effect.
Also, authorised dealer banks were instructed to comply fully with the revised guidelines.
The earlier restrictions, introduced in 2024, had limited the ability of international oil firms to remit their full foreign exchange earnings to parent companies abroad.
They also imposed approval requirements and detailed reporting obligations for cash pooling arrangements.
CBN insisted that the latest policy change would ease operational constraints for oil companies and improve access to foreign exchange within Nigeria’s liberalised market framework.
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