Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals has dismissed as false, unfounded, and commercially indefensible reports that petroleum products from its facility are exported to Lomé, Togo, and subsequently re-imported into Nigeria. In a statement signed by management on June 23, 2026, titled “PMS: Response to Unsubstantiated Claims and Tissue of Lies,” the refinery clarified that while it does not usually respond to such baseless allegations, it was compelled to set the record straight for the public.
Refinery Calls Claims Commercially Illogical
The refinery explained that the accusation contradicts commercial logic and trade flows based on available data. It emphasized that a fundamental aspect of its business is to become and remain a major supplier of petroleum products to Nigeria’s domestic market. “A key objective of Dangote Refinery is to maintain and strengthen its position as a leading supplier of petroleum products to the Nigerian market. Facilitating imports that compete directly with our own production would be inconsistent with this objective,” the statement read.
Dangote Refinery noted that its sales agreements and tenders restrict purchasers from reselling or re-importing its products into Nigeria. The company also highlighted that it has rigorous product monitoring mechanisms that track the movement of products from the facility. “Our systems track liftings from the refinery: including identifying the vessels, buyers and stated destinations for our products. Any claim of the refinery knowingly facilitating re-importation contravenes these contractual obligations and our standard operating procedures,” the statement added.
Logistical Costs Make Re-importation Unviable
Regarding the viability of such transactions, Dangote Refinery said the logistical costs would be economically unsustainable. The company estimated that the logistics cost for moving products from the refinery to Lomé and back into Nigeria is approximately $82 to $90 per metric ton. “These added costs would significantly depress margins and make these transactions financially prohibitive,” the refinery stated. It further noted that it does not offer export discounts that would offset those costs.
“Simply put, there is no plausible economic justification for any producer to bear the additional costs of transport, storage, finance, and handling for their product to end up re-entering their largest and nearest market. There is neither a strategic rationale nor a commercial incentive for Dangote Refinery to facilitate exports to neighboring markets for subsequent re-importation into Nigeria,” the statement emphasized.
Commitment to Nigeria’s Energy Security
Dangote Refinery reiterated its commitment to ending Nigeria’s overdependence on imported petroleum products. “Promoting re-importation would undermine local refining capacity, exert further pressure on foreign reserves and hinder our country’s industrial progress,” the company said. The refinery also noted that its focus remains on boosting local fuel supply and ensuring energy security in Nigeria and Africa as a whole.
In a related development, Legit.ng earlier reported that Dangote Refinery reduced the price of Automotive Gas Oil (diesel) at the gantry by N100 to N1,600, providing hope for a drop in transport, logistics, and manufacturing costs in Nigeria. The adjustment followed an earlier reduction of petrol prices by N75 for marketers, aligning with a decline in global crude oil benchmarks after an agreement between the United States and Iran aimed at ending the Middle East war and reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
