Dangote Refinery speaks on alleged fuel export to Lomé, re-import into Nigeria

Dangote Petroleum Refinery has strongly denied allegations that its petroleum products are being exported to Lomé, Togo, and later re-imported into Nigeria.

In a statement issued by the company on Tuesday, the refinery described the claims as “unsubstantiated” and “a tissue of lies,” insisting there is no commercial or operational basis for such transactions.

According to the company, its core business objective is to strengthen energy security in Nigeria and across Africa by supplying petroleum products directly to the Nigerian market. It stressed that any practice involving exporting and then re-importing its products would contradict this goal.

“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 also argued that the economics of such a trade make it unviable, noting that transporting products from Nigeria to Lomé and back into the country would attract additional logistics costs estimated at between $82 and $90 per metric ton. It said such expenses would make any round-trip movement commercially unattractive.

Dangote Refinery further stated that it does not offer export pricing incentives capable of creating arbitrage opportunities that would justify exporting products only for them to return to Nigeria.

The company added that it maintains strict product traceability systems, including detailed records of buyers, shipping vessels, lifting points, and declared destinations, alongside contractual restrictions that prohibit resale or re-importation into Nigeria.

It also maintained that encouraging such practices would be inconsistent with its public stance of reducing Nigeria’s dependence on imported petroleum products and strengthening local refining capacity.