The Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE has accused the Federal Government and its agencies of alleged deliberate sabotage, undermining its operations and frustrating its investment in Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector, an allegation the FG denied.
In a recent affidavit filed before the Federal High Court in Lagos seeking an interim injunction to stop the issuance and renewal of petroleum import licences, the company said its operations are anchored on crude oil supply arrangements with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, which it described as central to its refining business.
But the NNPC refuted the claims, stressing that it would raise a preliminary objection challenging the competence of the suit and the refinery’s locus standi
According to a copy of the affidavit obtained, the refinery told the court that, pursuant to its status as the operator of a domestic refinery in Nigeria, its business operations include purchasing crude oil from the Federal Government of Nigeria through the NNPC and refining the products for sale to Nigerians to ease pressure on the government to make petroleum products available for local consumption.
The refinery, however, alleged that the government had failed in its obligation to ensure adequate crude supply to local refineries, claiming the development was deliberate and harmful to its investment.
“However, contrary to the government’s obligation to ensure the adequate supply of crude oil to local refineries such as that of the applicant, the government, through the NNPC, has deliberately neglected to do so, in a bid to sabotage the applicant’s investment in the oil and gas industry in Nigeria,” the refinery alleged.
According to the company, the shortfall in crude allocation has forced it to consistently source a substantial portion of its crude feedstock through international traders, who charge additional premiums on top of already elevated spot market prices.
