NNPC accuses Dangote Refinery of seeking fuel monopoly

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Limited has accused Dangote Petroleum Refinery of seeking to restrict competition and expose the country’s fuel market to monopoly control by challenging import licences issued to rival marketers, according to court documents seen by ​Reuters.

Read Also: Dangote Petroleum Refinery sues FG over fuel import licences

In a proposed defence filed at the Federal High Court in Lagos, NNPC ​said granting Dangote’s request to void or restrict import permits would expose ⁠Africa’s largest oil producer to supply disruptions, price instability and risks to national energy ​security.

NNPC rejected that argument, saying the law allows import licences to companies with local refining licences or proven records in international crude ​and petroleum-product trading.

It ​said regulators had ⁠discretion to manage imports under Nigeria’s backward-integration policy and that there was no mandatory ban on imports except in cases of domestic shortfall.

NNPC ​also said Dangote had not provided “credible, independent or verifiable evidence” that ​the refinery ⁠could meet Nigeria’s total fuel demand or guarantee uninterrupted nationwide supply, the court documents show.

Dangote declined to comment while the case is ongoing.

NNPC denied allegations that it had sabotaged Dangote’s refinery ⁠or ​deliberately withheld crude. It said crude allocations depended on operational, ​commercial, security and logistical factors.

The court has scheduled a hearing in the coming weeks.

Fuel marketers have also opposed Dangote’s suit, ​warning it could hurt competition and supply security.

Vanguard News

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