The industrial dispute between the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) escalated dramatically on Saturday, as the union directed seven of its branches to cut off crude oil and gas supplies to the $20bn facility.

Union's Action and Accusations

In a letter dated September 26 and signed by its General Secretary, Lumumba Okugbawa, PENGASSAN accused the refinery’s management of sacking its members in retaliation for exercising their constitutional right to join the union. This move marks an escalation in the standoff, with the union accusing the refinery of anti-labour practices and the unlawful dismissal of its members.

PENGASSAN issued a directive to its branch chairmen in key upstream and midstream oil companies, including TotalEnergies, Chevron, Seplat, Shell Nigeria Gas, Oando, and Nigerian Gas Infrastructure Company (NGIC), instructing them to immediately halt all crude oil and gas supplies to the refinery.

The directive follows PENGASSAN's allegations that Nigerian workers were sacked after joining the union, claiming management also withdrew staff buses and denied entry to locals while allowing expatriates access. The union further threatened to picket the refinery if the situation was not addressed.

Dangote Refinery's Response

In a statement on Friday, the Dangote 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. The refinery rejected claims of mass layoffs, stating that over 3,000 Nigerians remain in employment.

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.

PENGASSAN's Directive Details

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

The union described the refinery's move as “illegitimate” and accused it of spreading misinformation instead of addressing the matter through dialogue. The directive stated:

"As you are aware, the Management of Dangote Petroleum Refinery has disengaged our members in reaction to the exercise of their constitutional right to being unionized. They have gone further on a mission of misinformation and propaganda to justify this illegitimacy rather than engaging meaningfully with us to right the wrong. Consequent to these, you are hereby directed to cut off gas supply to NGIC effective immediately. All crude oil supply valves to the Refinery should be shut. The loading operation for vessel headed there should be halted immediately."

The union mandated the NGIC Chairman to ensure strict compliance and instructed all branch chairmen to give regular updates on the action taken. The directive ended with the slogan: “Injury to one! Injury to all!”

In an unrelated development on Thursday, the company announced it would suspend petrol sales in naira from September 28 following the exhaustion of its crude-for-naira allocations.