Dangote Refinery Responds to Allegations of Fuel Export to Lomé and Re‑import into Nigeria

Dangote Petroleum Refinery has firmly rejected claims that its petroleum products are being exported to Lomé, Togo, and then re-imported into Nigeria.

In a statement released on Tuesday, the refinery called the allegations “unsubstantiated” and “a tissue of lies,” asserting that there is no commercial or operational basis for such transactions.

The company says its primary objective is to enhance energy security in Nigeria and across Africa by supplying petroleum products directly to the Nigerian market, and it emphasized that exporting and then re-importing its products would run counter to that aim.

It added that “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 also contended that the economics of such a trade would be unviable, citing that shipping products from Nigeria to Lomé and back would incur additional logistics costs of roughly $82 to $90 per metric ton, rendering any round‑trip movement commercially unattractive.

It also noted that the refinery does not provide export pricing incentives that could create arbitrage opportunities justifying the export of products only to have them return to Nigeria.

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

It further maintained that encouraging such practices would conflict with its public commitment to reduce Nigeria’s dependence on imported petroleum products and to strengthen local refining capacity.