Dangote Refinery rejects claim of fuel re-importation through Lome to Nigeria

Dangote Petroleum Refinery has dismissed allegations that petroleum products refined at its facility are exported to Lomé, Togo, and subsequently re-imported into Nigeria, describing the claims as unsupported by commercial realities and established trade practices.

In a statement released on Tuesday, the company said it was responding to what it described as “baseless and unsubstantiated claims” despite its policy of avoiding public engagement with unfounded allegations.

“The allegation that products produced by Dangote Refinery are exported to Lomé and subsequently re-imported into Nigeria is not supported by either available trade flows or commercial logic,” the refinery stated.

According to the company, facilitating imports that compete directly with its own production would contradict its strategic objective of maintaining and strengthening 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 said.

The refinery argued that the economics of the alleged trade route make little business sense. It estimated that transporting products from the refinery to Lomé and back into Nigeria would add between $80 and $90 per metric tonne in logistics costs, significantly reducing profitability.

“These additional costs would significantly erode margins and make such transactions commercially unattractive,” the company noted.

Dangote Refinery further stated that it does not provide export discounts large enough to offset these costs or create arbitrage opportunities between export and domestic markets.