The Dangote Petroleum Refinery is locked in a heated dispute with the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) after the union ordered its members in major oil and gas companies to halt crude oil and gas supplies to the $20 billion facility.
The move comes after the dismissal of about 800 workers, which the union said was linked to their decision to join PENGASSAN. The union also accused the refinery of unfair labour practices, including hiring expatriates illegally and paying foreign engineers several times more than their Nigerian colleagues.
In protest, PENGASSAN directed workers at companies such as TotalEnergies, Chevron, Shell Nigeria Gas, Seplat, Oando, Renaissance, and the Nigerian Gas Infrastructure Company to stop crude and gas deliveries to Dangote Refinery. The union warned of a possible nationwide strike if the sacked workers are not reinstated.
Dangote Refinery strongly condemned the directive, calling it “criminal” and “economic sabotage.” The company said the shutdown order would deny Nigerians access to essential fuels such as petrol, diesel, kerosene, aviation fuel, and cooking gas. It argued that the refinery is a strategic national asset that should be protected, not undermined.
“The directive is an attack on ordinary Nigerians and the economy,” the refinery said in a statement, adding that PENGASSAN has no legal authority to interfere with its supply contracts. It also warned that the union’s action could scare away investors from Nigeria’s energy sector.
The Nigeria Labour Congress has not formally taken a position but is monitoring the situation, while attempts to get comments from the Ministry of Labour and Employment and the Trade Union Congress were unsuccessful.
Meanwhile, the refinery also faced controversy over payments for petroleum products. On Friday, it announced it would no longer accept naira for fuel sales, citing limits in its naira-for-crude allocation. However, after intervention by the Naira-for-Crude Technical Committee chaired by Finance Minister Wale Edun, the refinery reversed its decision and confirmed that payments in naira would continue.
