The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has ordered its members in major oil and gas companies to cut crude oil and gas supplies to the Dangote Petroleum Refinery following a dispute over workers’ dismissal.
In a directive dated September 26, the union told branches in firms such as Chevron, TotalEnergies, Seplat, Oando, Shell Nigeria Gas, and the Nigerian Gas Infrastructure Company to immediately stop all deliveries to the $20bn refinery.
PENGASSAN accused the refinery’s management of sacking employees who joined the union and described the action as anti-labour. The union also alleged that local workers had been denied access to the facility while expatriates were allowed in. It warned that the next step could be picketing if the matter is not resolved.
The refinery, however, denied carrying out mass layoffs. Management said only a few workers were affected by a restructuring exercise aimed at preventing acts of sabotage that had threatened safety and operations. It stressed that more than 3,000 Nigerians remain employed at the facility.
The dispute comes just days after Dangote Refinery announced it would stop selling petrol in naira from September 28, following the end of its crude-for-naira allocation.
The development has raised concerns that the disagreement could disrupt fuel supply in Nigeria if not addressed quickly.
