Dangote denies claims marketers re-import fuel via Togo

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The management of Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals has denied claims by S&P Global that Nigerian marketers are re-importing the fuels it exports to the Lomé trading hub in Togo, describing the claim as “unfounded and misleading”.

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“Management states unequivocally that the allegation is not supported by verifiable trade data, commercial logic, or the operational realities of the Dangote refinery,” the company said in a statement.

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A core mandate of the refinery, according to the statement, is to strengthen domestic supply and remain a leading provider of petroleum products in Nigeria, stressing, “Any practice that enables imports to compete directly with its own production clearly contradicts this objective.”

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The management added that all sales contracts and tender agreements expressly prohibit the resale or re-importation of Dangote refinery products into Nigeria.

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It was emphasised that the economics of the purported trade route are fundamentally flawed. “Estimated logistics costs for transporting products from the refinery to Lomé and back into Nigeria range between US$82–90 per metric tonne. Such additional costs would significantly erode margins and render the transaction commercially unviable.

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“Dangote refinery does not provide export discounts sufficient to offset these costs or create arbitrage opportunities between export and domestic markets. Simply put, no rational producer would incur additional shipping, storage, financing, and handling costs only for products to re-enter and compete in its primary market,” the firm clarified.

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The management also highlighted that the refinery maintains stringent product traceability protocols, including detailed records of lifting points, nominated vessels, counterparties, and declared destinations. These measures, it was said, ensure full visibility and accountability across the supply chain.

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The statement insisted that any “claim suggesting that the refinery facilitates or tolerates re-importation is inconsistent with its contractual safeguards and established compliance standards”.

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The refinery noted that it has consistently advocated for reducing Nigeria’s dependence on imported petroleum products, adding that encouraging or enabling re-importation would undermine local refining efforts, strain foreign exchange reserves, and weaken national industrial growth, positions that are contrary to its core objectives.

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“Management reiterates that there is no strategic, economic, or operational basis for the claim that Dangote refinery exports products for re-importation into Nigeria. The allegation is entirely unfounded and does not withstand scrutiny when measured against market logic, contractual frameworks, and industry practices,” it said.

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S&P Global Energy official, Matthew Tracey-Cook, during a webinar organised by the Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria disclosed that Nigerian fuel marketers were increasingly importing refined petroleum products originating from the Dangote refinery through the offshore ship-to-ship trading hub in Lomé, Togo.

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Though Tracey-Cook did not say the Dangote refinery was aware of the development, he said Dangote volumes on a coastal basis do arrive back in Lagos from Lomé.

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“For several months, from March until May, we saw well over 70 to 80 per cent of the volumes that were imported into Nigeria actually originated from Dangote; from their coastal Dangote volumes which were re-imported,” he said.

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The PUNCH recalls that some fuel importers in the country alleged in November 2025 that the Dangote refinery sells a litre of petrol to international traders at N65 cheaper than the amount it offers to marketers in Nigeria.

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The Depot and Petroleum Product Marketers Association of Nigeria and the Petroleum Products Retail Outlet Owners Association of Nigeria confirmed this in separate interviews with our correspondent at the time.

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“Dangote is selling to international traders at N65 lower than what he offers in Nigeria. How is it possible for some of our members to buy from someone who bought from Dangote?

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“Dangote sells to international traders at N65 cheaper than what he is selling to us. In some instances, we were able to buy from those people and still bring it to Nigeria. They will take the product to Lomé, claiming that they are buying large quantities,” DAPPMAN stated in 2025.

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But the refinery dispelled the allegation of cheaper petrol sales in Togo compared to Nigeria, with many Nigerians questioning how local marketers could leave the producer of a product in his home country to buy it from another trader in Togo.

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The Dangote refinery is in court to stop fuel importation into Nigeria.

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