ABUJA, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)-Dangote Petroleum Refinery has dismissed allegations that its petroleum products are exported to Lomé, Togo, and subsequently re-imported into Nigeria.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the refinery described the claims as “unsubstantiated” and “a tissue of lies,” maintaining that there is no commercial or operational justification for such a practice.
The company said its primary mission is to enhance energy security in Nigeria and across Africa through the direct supply of petroleum products to the domestic market, stressing that exporting and re-importing its products would run contrary to that objective.
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“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,” it said.
The refinery further stated that the economics of the alleged transaction make no business sense, explaining that moving products from Nigeria to Lomé and then back into the country would incur additional logistics costs of between $82 and $90 per metric ton.
According to the company, such costs would render the round-trip movement commercially unattractive.
Dangote Refinery also noted that it does not provide export pricing incentives that could create arbitrage opportunities capable of encouraging the export of products for eventual re-importation into Nigeria.
The company added that it operates strict product traceability mechanisms, including comprehensive records of buyers, shipping vessels, lifting locations and declared destinations, as well as contractual provisions that prohibit resale or re-importation into Nigeria.
It maintained that supporting such a practice would contradict its longstanding position on reducing Nigeria’s reliance on imported petroleum products and promoting local refining capacity.