Africa’s largest oil refinery has gone to war with the Nigerian state. The Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE has filed an emergency application before the Federal High Court in Lagos, accusing the Federal Government and its agencies of a deliberate and coordinated campaign to sabotage its operations — allegations the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) has flatly rejected.
In a sworn affidavit filed in support of a motion seeking an urgent interim injunction to halt the issuance and renewal of petroleum import licences, the refinery told the court that it currently receives just five crude oil cargoes per month from NNPC — less than half of the 13 cargoes it says are required to operate at full capacity and maintain adequate supply of petroleum products to the Nigerian market.
The company alleged that the shortfall is not accidental. “However, contrary to the government’s obligation to ensure the adequate supply of crude oil to local refineries such as that of the applicant, the government, through the NNPC, has deliberately neglected to do so, in a bid to sabotage the applicant’s investment in the oil and gas industry in Nigeria,” the refinery’s affidavit stated.
Forced to cover the gap, the company said it has been compelled to source a substantial portion of its crude feedstock from international traders at additional premiums on top of already elevated spot market prices — a costly arrangement that it argues undermines its competitiveness and erodes the investment case for the refinery.
On the import licence front, Dangote alleged that the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority has continued issuing and renewing import licences to third-party companies despite the refinery’s output exceeding national consumption — in what the company argues is a direct violation of Section 317(9) of the Petroleum Industry Act. Among the companies named as beneficiaries of the import regime are A.A. Rano Limited, Matrix Petroleum Services Limited and AYM Shafa Limited.
The refinery has asked the court to restrain the Attorney General of the Federation and the relevant government agencies from continuing to issue or renew those licences until the matter is resolved. It warned that if the court does not intervene, its investment — which it described as the foundation of one of Nigeria’s largest private employment bases — could be placed in jeopardy, with devastating consequences for jobs and the broader economy.
NNPC, however, struck back sharply. The state oil company said it would challenge the competence of the suit and the refinery’s legal standing to bring the claim, filing its own affidavit stating that “the plaintiff’s suit is premature; the plaintiff lacks locus standi.” NNPC denied all allegations of sabotage and crude supply manipulation, stating that “the government and the 2nd defendant have not deliberately denied the plaintiff a crude oil supply” and that the relevant agencies “have not frustrated the plaintiff in the execution of its business objectives or refinery operations in any manner whatsoever.” NNPC also pointed to the refinery’s pricing, saying its petroleum products are already sold at “significantly high and fluctuating market prices, dictated by its commercial interests.”
The case, filed under Suit No: FHC/L/CS/2026, now places one of Nigeria’s most consequential infrastructure investments on a collision course with the agencies meant to underpin its success. Its outcome could have profound implications for the future of domestic refining in Nigeria.
Source: punchng.com