Dangote refinery denies Lomé export-and-reimport scheme amid price debate

Dangote Petroleum Refinery has refuted reports suggesting that its petroleum products are exported to Lomé, Togo, and subsequently re-imported into Nigeria, describing the assertions as unsupported and inconsistent with logical business practice.

The refinery’s rebuttal, issued on Tuesday in a statement titled “Response to Unsubstantiated Claims and Tissue of Lies,” comes amid growing public anger over fuel prices and barely a day after industry data appeared to suggest the opposite of what the company is claiming.

According to the statement, Dangote Refinery has consistently opposed Nigeria’s reliance on imported petroleum products, arguing that it undermines local refining capacity, strains foreign exchange reserves, and hampers industrial growth.

“Dangote refinery has consistently advocated for eliminating Nigeria’s dependence on imported petroleum products. Increased importation undermines local refining, places pressure on foreign exchange reserves, and weakens domestic industrial development,” the statement said.

The dispute lands at a sensitive moment for Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector. Since the outbreak of the crisis involving the United States, Israel and Iran earlier this year, petrol prices in Nigeria have risen sharply, driven by fears of disruption to global crude supplies through the Strait of Hormuz.

Petrol that sold for about N870 per litre before the crisis climbed to nearly N1,500 per litre in some areas.

A ceasefire between the United States and Iran has since eased tensions and pulled crude back from highs above $100 a barrel to the mid-$70s range, fueling expectations of relief at Nigerian pumps.

Those expectations have only been partly met. Pump prices in Abuja and other major cities are currently hovering around N1,280 – N1,320 per litre, with NNPCL and independent marketers such as MRS pricing in a similar band, but with a slight reduction with little or no fractions.

Dangote Refinery did cut its ex-depot (gantry) price by N75 in response to the development, but marketers say broader relief has been slower to materialize than the drop in international crude would suggest, fueling the social media debate that forms the backdrop to this week’s allegations.

However, critics of the country’s import-dependent fuel market have long argued that entrenched importing interests stand to lose from Dangote Refinery’s expanding share of supply, while the refinery has positioned itself as central to the country’s energy security.

Meanwhile, The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has credited the refinery with cushioning Nigerians from far steeper price shocks during the Iran conflict, arguing pump prices could have reached N6,000 per litre without its domestic output.

The released statement by the Dangote Refinery mentioned that it would therefore be inconsistent with both the refinery’s commercial interests and its publicly stated position to support or encourage practices that increase imports into Nigeria.

The company said the objective of the group remains intact; which is to strengthen its position as Nigeria’s leading supplier of petroleum products to the Nigeria market, therefore facilitating imports that would compete directly with its own products would be inconsistent with its objective.

“Dangote refinery maintains all comprehensive records of all product sales, including lifting locations, nominated vessel, counterparties and destination declarations where applicable,” the statement said.

“There is neither a strategic rationale nor commercial incentive for Dangote refinery to facilitate exports to neighbouring markets for subsequent re-importation into Nigeria,” the statement added.

With petrol prices remaining higher than pre-crisis levels, Nigerians are expecting a fall in price of petrol to N1,000 per litre or below, to provide further relief from the economic hardship currently facing the country.