The management of Dangote Petroleum Refinery has strongly rejected allegations that petroleum products refined at its Lagos-based facility are exported to neighbouring Togo and later re-imported into Nigeria, describing the claims as false, misleading and inconsistent with commercial realities.
The refinery responded on Tuesday after reports and social media posts suggested that refined products produced by the multi-billion-dollar facility were being shipped to Lomé before finding their way back into the Nigerian market.
In a statement released through its official communication channels, the company said it was compelled to address the allegations despite its longstanding policy of avoiding engagement with what it described as baseless claims.
“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,” the refinery said.
“However, we have decided to clear the air on this ill-motivated web of falsehoods for posterity.”
The company argued that the alleged arrangement runs contrary to its commercial objectives and strategic role in Nigeria’s energy sector.
According to the refinery, one of its core business goals is to remain a dominant supplier of refined petroleum products within Nigeria. It said facilitating the importation of products that would directly compete with its own output would be economically irrational.
The refinery also disclosed that its sales agreements and tender conditions expressly prohibit buyers from re-exporting products back into Nigeria.
Addressing the economic feasibility of the alleged transactions, the company said logistics costs alone make such a business model unattractive.
According to Dangote Refinery, transporting products from its facility to Lomé and then shipping them back into Nigeria would cost between $80 and $90 per metric tonne, significantly reducing profit margins.
The company added that it does not offer export incentives or pricing structures capable of creating arbitrage opportunities between export and domestic markets.
The response comes at a time when the refinery is increasingly central to Nigeria’s efforts to reduce dependence on imported petroleum products and improve domestic refining capacity.
The company also highlighted its compliance and traceability procedures, stating that every product sale is documented through detailed records that include lifting points, nominated vessels, counterparties and destination declarations where required.
Dangote Refinery maintained that increased dependence on imported petroleum products undermines local refining efforts, weakens industrial growth and places unnecessary strain on the country’s foreign exchange reserves.
It concluded that there is neither a strategic nor commercial basis for facilitating exports to neighbouring countries for eventual re-importation into Nigeria, insisting that the allegations are unsupported by trade economics, contractual arrangements or market realities.
