The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited ((NNPC Ltd) has pointedly accused Dangote Petroleum Refinery of attempting to restrict competition and give itself monopoly control of the country’s petroleum products market by challenging import licences issued to rival marketers.
This wads just as fuel marketers also opposed Dangote’s suit, warning it could hurt competition and supply security.
The NNPC Ltd in a proposed defence filed at the Federal High Court in Lagos, insisted that granting Dangote’s request to void or restrict import permits would expose Africa’s largest oil producer to supply disruptions, price instability, and risks to national energy security.
In the same vein, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has applied to be joined in the case, thereby widening the legal battle over import policy and Dangote refinery’s market position.
The dispute comes months before Dangote’s planned September IPO of its refinery business, stating that the case by Dangote would create uncertainty over market rules, import competition, and the revenue outlook for the 650,000-barrel-per-day plant.
Dangote Petroleum Refinery filed the lawsuit in April against the Attorney General of the Federation, challenging fuel import licences issued or renewed by the NMDPRA to marketers and NNPC, arguing that the licences undermine local refining and violate provisions of Nigeria’s Petroleum Industry Act.
But, the NNPC Ltd while countering the position of Dangote, argued that the law allows import licences for companies with local refining licences or proven records in international crude and petroleum-product trading.
The NNPC Ltd further argued that regulators had discretion to manage imports under Nigeria’s backward-integration policy, stressing that there was no mandatory ban on imports except in cases of domestic shortfall.
According to court documents, the NNPC specifically said that Dangote had not provided “sufficient, credible, independent or verifiable evidence” that its refinery would be able to meet Nigeria’s total fuel demand or guarantee uninterrupted nationwide supply.
The NNPC also denied allegations that it sabotaged Dangote’s refinery or deliberately withheld crude, saying that crude allocations depended on operational, commercial, security, and logistical factors.
