Dangote Refinery insists exported fuel are not returning to Nigeria through Lomé

Dangote Petroleum Refinery has refuted claims that petroleum products exported from its facility are being re-imported into Nigeria through the offshore ship-to-ship trading hub in Lomé, Togo.

The refinery disclosed this on Tuesday, June 23, through a statement issued by its management, describing the allegation as a “web of falsehoods” and insisting that the claim is not supported by available trade flows or commercial logic.

The rebuttal comes after reports emerged claiming that refined petroleum products exported by Dangote Refinery were finding their way back into Nigeria through the offshore ship-to-ship (STS) trading hub in Lomé.

What Dangote is saying

However, Dangote Refinery strongly refuted the claim, arguing that the allegation is not “supported by either available trade flows or commercial logic.”

The company outlined four reasons why it believes the allegation is unfounded, ranging from its commercial objectives and the economics of the trade to its compliance procedures and long-standing advocacy for local refining.

According to the refinery, facilitating the re-importation of its own products would run contrary to its objective of strengthening its position as a leading supplier of petroleum products to the Nigerian market.

It also argued that the economics of such a trade do not make sense.

• “The estimated logistics cost of moving products from Dangote Refinery to Lomé and subsequently back into Nigeria is approximately US$82–90 per metric ton. These additional costs would significantly erode margins and make such transactions commercially unattractive.
• “Furthermore, Dangote Refinery does not offer export discounts of a magnitude that would offset these logistics costs or create a viable arbitrage opportunity between export and domestic markets.
• “Simply put, there…