Dangote refinery takes legal action against federal government regarding fuel import permits

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The Dangote Petroleum Refinery has filed a new lawsuit against Nigeria’s Attorney General in a bid to overturn fuel import licences issued to ‌marketers and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.

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The PUNCH reports that the NMDPRA recently issued six licences to marketers for the importation of petrol, saying imported fuel is necessary to complement domestic supplies.

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Court documents seen by Reuters show that the case sought to nullify import permits issued to the NNPC and several traders.

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It could be recalled that Dangote had in 2025 withdrawn a similar case against the NNPC and other marketers after the intervention of the Federal Government.

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The President of the Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, had repeatedly argued that the government should no longer permit petrol imports with its tanks full at the refinery.

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The new filing asks the Federal High Court in Lagos to set aside import permits issued or renewed by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, arguing they breach an earlier order to maintain the status quo.

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Regulators and marketers have previously argued that imports are needed to ‌ensure adequate supply and prevent shortages.

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Recently, the NMDPRA issued licences to six marketers for the importation of 720,000 metric tonnes of premium motor spirit (petrol).

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The marketers are NIPCO, AA Rano, Matrix, Shafa, Pinnacle, and Bono. The development comes amid claims by the NMDPRA that the Dangote Petroleum Refinery now supplies over 90 per cent of Nigeria’s daily petrol consumption.

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Findings showed that NIPCO is expected to import 120,000 metric tonnes; AA Rano, 150,000MT; Matrix, 150,000MT; Shafa, 120,000MT; Pinnacle, 120,000MT; and Bono, 60,000MT, amounting to 720,000MT.

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An official of the NMDPRA, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak publicly on the matter, confirmed to our correspondent that the import licences were issued.

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But Dangote said in the filing that the licences issued this month undermine its operations and contravene the law, which it argues allows imports only when domestic supply falls short.

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During a recent interview with the Norwegian Sovereign Wealth Fund Chief Executive Officer, Nicolai Tangen, Dangote revealed that his refinery is now operating at 661,000 barrels a day. This was even as he recounted the gains of the US-Iran war for their refinery and fertiliser businesses.

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Dangote boasted that the company has proved its capacity by building a refinery of that magnitude in Nigeria, commissioning it, and operating it at over 650,000 bpd above its nameplate capacity.

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With this, he said financial institutions would be ready to support the group whenever needed.

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“The refinery has been tested. We have now processed even crude at 661,000 barrels a day. So we have demonstrated that capability…” he said.

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Speaking about crude supply, Dangote said, “We source about 56 per cent from Nigeria and some from Angola. We buy quite a bit from Angola, from Libya, and from the US. At one point, we were doing about seven to eight cargoes of WTI from the US. But we’re getting more of Nigeria’s crude now. We have to now buy 21 cargoes every month. That’s how big we are. And we’re more than doubling the refinery. You know, in the next 30 months, we will be at 1.4 million barrels per day, which is huge.”

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Aliko Dangote named a category of those he called the ‘Mafia’, trying to sabotage the refinery.

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“The Mafia are the people who are actually benefiting because Nigeria were giving out almost $10bn every year as a subsidy. There are shippers who are making tonnes of money. There are traders who are making a lot of money buying crude and sending us refined products. There are also the local people, because it was subsidised, very few people are getting allocations. So they are making billions of naira. So, these are the people that did not want us to settle down because they believed that we were coming here to displace them, and of course, that’s what we have done now,” he said.

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