Dangote Refinery has described as criminal, lawless, and a threat to national stability the directive issued by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) to its branches, instructing them to cut off gas and crude oil supplies to the Refinery.
In a statement released on Friday, the company said the action was a “brazen and shocking display of lawlessness and criminality” that could cause mayhem, chaos, and ultimately translate into anarchy.
“Our attention has been drawn to the written directive issued by PENGASSAN on 26 September 2025 to its branches, including TotalEnergies E&P, Seplat Producing Nigeria Unlimited, Renaissance, Chevron, Oando, Shell Nigeria Gas (SNG), and NGIC.
In that communication, PENGASSAN instructed its members to cut off gas supply to NGIC with immediate effect, to shut down all crude oil supply valves to the Dangote Refinery, and to halt loading operations for vessels headed to the Refinery. The Association further ordered its NGIC Branch Chairman to ensure compliance and demanded progress reports from all branch chairmen concerned.
This action is unlawful and baseless. Absolutely no law empowers PENGASSAN to direct its members or branches to cut off gas and crude oil supplies to Dangote Refinery—or to interfere with such supplies in any manner. The supply contracts in question were legally entered into between Dangote Refinery and third-party vendors, not with PENGASSAN. The Association has no right whatsoever to disrupt or interfere with the execution of these contracts.
PENGASSAN must be reminded that Nigeria is a country governed by laws, not self-help or mob action. This directive represents a reckless attempt to undermine the rule of law, capable of causing widespread hardship and plunging the nation into disorder. Ironically, on the same day the Association issued this unlawful directive, it had also released a Press Statement claiming it would seek legal action against Dangote Refinery—only to abandon legality almost immediately in favor of criminality and sabotage.
This action goes beyond lawlessness; it constitutes outright economic sabotage. By directing a halt to supplies, PENGASSAN seeks to disrupt the distribution of essential petroleum products—including aviation fuel, petrol, kerosene, diesel, and cooking gas. These are products critical to the daily lives of Nigerians, whether rich or poor, urban or rural. Inflicting such hardship on citizens is unjustifiable under any circumstance.
The pressing question is: in whose interest is PENGASSAN acting by directing this disruption? Certainly not in the interest of Nigerians or the Nigerian State.
Dangote Refinery reiterates that no association, however powerful, is above the law. Any attempt to obstruct the lawful operations of the Refinery and deny Nigerians access to essential petroleum products will be regarded for what it is, criminal conduct and economic sabotage and will be addressed as such under Nigerian law.”
