Dangote Refinery Faces Labour Crisis as PENGASSAN Orders Halt of Crude and Gas Supply

The $20 billion Dangote Petroleum Refinery is facing a major labour crisis after the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) directed its members across seven leading oil and gas firms to halt all crude oil and gas supplies to the multi-billion-dollar facility. The refinery, however, rejected the directive, describing it as criminal, lawless and an act of economic sabotage.

At the heart of the crisis is the dismissal of 800 workers, which PENGASSAN claims was in retaliation for exercising their constitutional right to join the union. The association also accused the refinery of flying in illegal Indian expatriates to operate in Nigeria’s sensitive energy sector while discriminating against local staff. According to the union, Nigerian engineers at the refinery earned about N385,000 monthly, compared to their Indian counterparts who received upwards of $5,000 (about N7.5 million).

In protest, PENGASSAN issued a shutdown directive on Saturday across its branches in major oil and gas companies including TotalEnergies, Chevron, Seplat, Shell Nigeria Gas, Oando, Renaissance and the Nigerian Gas Infrastructure Company. The memo, signed by General Secretary Lumumba Okugbawa, instructed the immediate stoppage of crude and gas supplies to the Dangote Refinery and the suspension of loading operations for vessels headed to the facility. Union sources disclosed that further action, including a nationwide strike, is being considered should the refinery fail to reinstate the sacked workers and address the alleged injustices.

Although the Nigeria Labour Congress is not directly involved, it is closely monitoring developments while awaiting a formal response from the Trade Union Congress, to which PENGASSAN is affiliated. Attempts by newsmen to obtain comments from the Ministry of Labour and Employment and the TUC President, Festus Osifo, proved unsuccessful as officials either declined to respond or failed to answer repeated calls and messages.

Reacting to the shutdown directive, Dangote accused the union of plotting to plunge Nigeria into a fuel crisis by cutting off access to petrol, diesel, kerosene, aviation fuel and cooking gas. The company stressed that no law permits PENGASSAN to interfere with contracts between the refinery and its suppliers, adding that such a move constitutes criminal conduct. It warned that the directive could discourage external investment in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector, damage the refinery’s contribution to national revenue, and inflict hardship on Nigerians who depend on its products.

Meanwhile, the refinery also faced controversy after initially announcing the suspension of naira-based sales of petrol due to unsustainable sales beyond its naira-for-crude allocations. Customers were advised to request refunds for ongoing naira transactions. However, following the intervention of the Naira-for-Crude Technical Committee chaired by Finance Minister Wale Edun, the refinery reversed the decision and confirmed the resumption of fuel sales in naira, urging marketers to place fresh orders for both self-collection and delivery at designated depots nationwide.

With the standoff escalating, stakeholders are warning that the dispute poses a significant threat to fuel supply stability in Nigeria. The Federal Government is now under pressure to intervene to prevent the crisis from spiraling into a nationwide shortage.