PENGASSAN stops gas, crude supply to Dangote refinery

The industrial dispute between the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria took a dramatic turn on Saturday as the union ordered seven branches to cut off crude oil and gas supplies to the $20bn facility.

In a letter dated September 26 and signed by its General Secretary, Lumumba Okugbawa, the union accused the refinery’s management of sacking its members in retaliation for exercising their constitutional right to join the union.

The union’s move marks an escalation in the standoff, with PENGASSAN accusing the refinery of anti-labour practices and the unlawful sack of its members.

In the directive issued to its branch chairmen, PENGASSAN instructed its branch chairmen in key upstream and midstream oil companies, including TotalEnergies, Chevron, Seplat, Shell Nigeria Gas, Oando, and Nigerian Gas Infrastructure Company, to immediately cut off all crude oil and gas supplies to the refinery.

PUNCH Online reports that the directive comes after PENGASSAN alleged that Nigerian workers were sacked by Dangote Refinery after joining the union, claiming that management also withdrew staff buses and denied entry to locals while allowing expatriates access.

The union threatened to picket the refinery if the situation was not addressed.

In a statement on Friday, the refinery clarified that only a small number of workers were affected by what it described as a reorganisation aimed at preventing acts of sabotage within the facility. It said over 3,000 Nigerians remain in employment, rejecting claims of mass layoffs. Dangote maintained that the restructuring was necessary after what it described as recurring acts of sabotage in different units of the refinery, which posed serious risks to human lives and operations.

As a result, PENGASSAN instructed its branches in TotalEnergies, Seplat, Chevron, Oando, Shell Nigeria Gas, Renaissance, and NGIC to cut gas supply to the refinery immediately. Punch