The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) has accused Dangote Petroleum Refinery of attempting to dominate Nigeria’s downstream oil market through its legal challenge against fuel import licences issued to rival marketers and industry operators.
The state oil company made the claim in court documents filed before the Federal High Court in Lagos in response to a suit instituted by Dangote Refinery against the Attorney-General of the Federation. According to the filing, NNPCL argued that cancelling or restricting import licences, as requested by the refinery, could weaken market competition, expose the country to fuel supply disruptions and create price instability.
The dispute follows a fresh lawsuit filed by Dangote Refinery challenging fuel import approvals granted to marketers and the NNPCL. The refinery maintains that continued issuance of import licences undermines domestic refining efforts and conflicts with provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), which it said was enacted to support local refining capacity.
However, NNPCL rejected that position, insisting that the law allows regulators to issue import permits to companies holding refining licences or firms with established international petroleum trading records. The company further argued that fuel imports remain lawful under Nigeria’s backward integration framework, particularly where domestic output has not fully met national demand.
In its defence, NNPCL also contended that Dangote Refinery failed to present “credible, independent or verifiable evidence” proving it could consistently satisfy Nigeria’s nationwide fuel demand without interruptions. The company denied claims that it deliberately frustrated Dangote Refinery’s operations or withheld crude oil supplies, stating that crude allocation decisions are guided by operational, commercial, security and logistical considerations.
Fuel marketers have equally opposed Dangote’s legal action, warning that restricting import licences could reduce competition and threaten supply stability in Nigeria’s petroleum market.
The latest legal confrontation revives a long-running disagreement between Dangote Refinery and regulators over Nigeria’s fuel import policy. Since commencing operations in 2024, the 650,000 barrels-per-day refinery has repeatedly advocated greater reliance on locally refined products, arguing that marketers should prioritise domestic supply over imports.
That position previously brought the refinery into conflict with former Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority leadership under Farouk Ahmed, who maintained that allowing a single refinery to dominate supply could undermine competition and pose long-term risks to Nigeria’s energy security. The court is expected to hear the matter in the coming weeks, with the outcome likely to shape the future balance between local refining growth, market competition and fuel supply policy in Nigeria.