Marketers Write FG Amid Crude Oil Sabotage Claims, Move to Protect Dangote Refinery
- Petroleum workers in Nigeria have pleaded with President Bola Tinubu to back the Dangote plant amid alleged opposition against the refinery
- They conveyed their shock and great worry over the recent claims made by the Dangote refinery about international oil companies
- The petroleum workers asked the federal government to establish an unbiased panel to investigate the claims
Legit.ng journalist Zainab Iwayemi has over 3-year-experience covering the Economy, Technology, and Capital Market.
President Bola Tinubu has been urged by the Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) to support the Dangote refinery and investigate its officials' claims that some foreign oil companies were planning to sabotage its success.
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The unions expressed their deep concern and shock over recent allegations by the Dangote Refinery and Petrochemicals Company.
The company had raised the alarm over a deliberate plot by some international oil companies to thwart its business efforts and continued existence in a letter dated July 1 and addressed to the president through his chief of staff, Femi Gbajabiamila.
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The letter, which was jointly signed by Lumumba Okugbawa, the secretary of PENGASSAN, and Olawale Afolabi, the secretary of NUPENG, stated that the purported sabotage actions included forcing the refinery to source crude oil from other countries, which comes with high operating costs and logistics, and denying the refinery access to crude oil supply.
“The Dangote Refinery is not only a critical national asset but also a beacon of hope for our energy security, economic growth, and employment opportunities. The economic benefits of a local refinery with such capacity as the Dangote’s to Nigeria can never be overstated. This is why, for several decades now, NUPENG and PENGASSAN have campaigned vigorously that Nigeria should make it a pre-requisite condition for companies that want to benefit from JVC arrangements with Nigeria, to set up a refinery/petrochemical company in Nigeria.
Marketers want FG to create impartial commission
The petroleum workers also asked the federal government to form an impartial commission to look into the allegations of sabotage made by certain IOCs.
They insisted that the probe be thorough and open in order to hold all parties responsible.
In order to preserve openness and public confidence, they also insisted that the investigation's results be made publicly available, arguing that Nigerians have a right to know the truth about the IOCs' acts and how they affected the country's interests.
“Should the allegations be substantiated, we expect the government to take decisive legal action against the entities involved. This must include sanctions, penalties, and any other measures necessary to deter future acts of economic sabotage.
“The government should provide all necessary support to ensure the uninterrupted commencement and operation of the Dangote Refinery. This includes ensuring security and stability around the refinery’s operations.
Petrol sales at the $20 billion Dangote refinery in Lekki, Lagos State, are anticipated to start shortly.
Aliko Dangote, the president of the Dangote Group, declared that his refinery would no longer import refined petroleum products into Nigeria or any other country in Africa.
The business is worried about IOCs' purported refusal to sell crude to the refinery, though.
The vice president of Oil and Gas at Dangote Industries Limited, Devakumar Edwin, stated recently:
“It seems that the IOCs’ objective is to ensure that our petroleum refinery fails. It is either they are deliberately asking for ridiculous/humongous premium or, they simply state that crude is not available.
“At some point, we paid $6 over and above the market price. This has forced us to reduce our output as well as import crude from countries as far as the US, increasing our cost of production.”
Dangote announces sale of fuel
Legit.ng earlier reported that S&P Global, an international financial analytics company, stated that Nigeria's foreign exchange (forex) problem and the significant pressure on the local naira currency can be resolved by the Dangote Oil Refinery and Petrochemicals company.
The firm, headquartered in Manhattan, New York City, stated this during a visit to Dangote Refinery in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos.
According to S&P, Nigeria's oil industry and expanding economy would benefit from the world's largest single-train refinery complex.
Proofreading by James Ojo Adakole, journalist and copy editor at Legit.ng.
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