The management of Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals has denied claims by S&P Global that Nigerian marketers are re-importing the fuels it exports to the Lomé trading hub in Togo, describing the claim as “unfounded and misleading”.

“Management states unequivocally that the allegation is not supported by verifiable trade data, commercial logic, or the operational realities of the Dangote refinery,” the company said in a statement.

A core mandate of the refinery, according to the statement, is to strengthen domestic supply and remain a leading provider of petroleum products in Nigeria, stressing, “Any practice that enables imports to compete directly with its own production clearly contradicts this objective.”

The management added that all sales contracts and tender agreements expressly prohibit the resale or re-importation of Dangote refinery products into Nigeria.

It was emphasised that the economics of the purported trade route are fundamentally flawed. “Estimated logistics costs for transporting products from the refinery to Lomé and back into Nigeria range between US$82–90 per metric tonne. Such additional costs would significantly erode margins and render the transaction commercially unviable.

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