Dangote Refinery Denies Claims of Fuel Re-importation Via Togo
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the refinery said it was compelled to respond to what it described as a “web of falsehoods” despite its policy of not reacting to baseless and unsubstantiated claims.
According to the company, the allegation is inconsistent with both available trade realities and the refinery’s commercial objectives, which are focused on strengthening its position as a leading supplier of petroleum products in the Nigerian market.
“Facilitating imports that compete directly with our own production would be inconsistent with this objective,” the refinery stated, adding that its sales contracts and tender terms expressly prohibit the resale or re-importation of its products into Nigeria.
Dangote Refinery also argued that the economics of such a trade arrangement do not support the claims. It estimated that transporting petroleum products from its facility to Lomé and back into Nigeria would cost between $82 and $90 per metric tonne, making the transactions commercially unattractive.
The company noted that it does not offer export discounts large enough to offset the additional logistics, storage, financing, and handling costs involved in such a process.
“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 statement said.
The refinery further highlighted its product traceability systems and compliance procedures, stating that it maintains detailed records of all product sales, including lifting locations, nominated vessels, counterparties and destination declarations where applicable.
It stressed that suggestions that it knowingly facilitates the re-importation of products into Nigeria are inconsistent with the contractual restrictions imposed on buyers and the refinery’s established compliance controls.
Reiterating its long-standing position on energy security, the company said it has consistently advocated reducing Nigeria’s dependence on imported petroleum products, arguing that increased imports undermine local refining capacity, place pressure on foreign exchange reserves and weaken domestic industrial development.
The management maintained that there is neither a strategic rationale nor a commercial incentive for the refinery to support exports to neighbouring countries for subsequent re-importation into Nigeria.
“The allegation is not supported by the economics of the trade, the refinery’s contractual arrangements, its product traceability and compliance controls, or its long-standing position on strengthening domestic refining and eliminating dependence on imports,” the statement added.
