The management of Dangote Petroleum Refinery has strongly refuted allegations that petroleum products refined at its facility are exported to Lomé, Togo, and subsequently re-imported into Nigeria.
In a statement issued via its X handle on Tuesday, the refinery described the claims circulating online as unfounded, baseless, and unsupported by trade realities or commercial logic.
The company noted that it was compelled to respond despite its general policy of ignoring unsubstantiated allegations, in order to set the record straight for posterity.
“As a matter of policy, we do not respond to baseless and unsubstantiated claims, given our current determination and focus on ensuring energy security in Nigeria and Africa as a whole. However, we have decided to clear the air on this ill-motivated web of falsehoods for posterity,” the statement read.
Dangote Refinery emphasised that one of its core commercial objectives is to strengthen its position as a leading supplier of petroleum products in the Nigerian market.
It argued that facilitating imports that would compete with its own production would be inconsistent with this goal.
The refinery revealed that its sales contracts and tender terms expressly prohibit the resale or re-importation of products into Nigeria.
It also highlighted that the additional logistics costs of transporting products to Lomé and back estimated at $80–90 per metric ton would significantly erode margins and make such transactions commercially unattractive.
“Simply put, there is no evident commercial incentive for a producer to incur additional shipping, storage, financing and handling costs only for the product to return and compete in its largest and closest market,” the management stated.
The company added that it maintains comprehensive records of all product sales, including lifting locations, nominated vessels, counterparties, and destination declarations.
It maintained that any suggestion it is knowingly facilitating re-importation contradicts its contractual restrictions and compliance procedures.
Dangote Refinery reiterated its long-standing advocacy for reducing Nigeria’s dependence on imported petroleum products, stating that such practices would undermine local refining capacity, pressure foreign exchange reserves, and weaken domestic industrial development.
The refinery concluded that there is neither a strategic nor commercial rationale for the alleged scheme.
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