Labour Showdown: PENGASSAN Halts Crude, Gas Supply to Dangote Refinery Over Mass Sack, Wage Disparities

The $20bn Dangote Petroleum Refinery is facing its first major labour crisis as the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has ordered its members in seven oil and gas firms to halt crude oil and gas supplies to the massive facility.

At the heart of the dispute is the dismissal of about 800 Nigerian workers, whom the union alleges were sacked after joining PENGASSAN. The union also accused the refinery of importing illegal Indian expatriates to man sensitive operations and of practicing wage discrimination with Nigerian engineers reportedly earning ₦385,000 monthly, compared to their Indian counterparts allegedly receiving $5,000 (₦7.5m).

In protest, PENGASSAN issued a directive to its branches in TotalEnergies, Chevron, Seplat, Shell Nigeria Gas, Oando, Renaissance, and the Nigerian Gas Infrastructure Company to immediately suspend crude and gas supply to the Dangote Refinery.

“All crude oil supply valves to the refinery should be shut. Loading operations for any vessel headed to the refinery should be halted immediately. Injury to one is injury to all,” stated PENGASSAN’s General Secretary, Lumumba Okugbawa.

Union sources said that an emergency NEC meeting is being convened, with discussions pointing toward a possible nationwide strike if Dangote fails to reinstate the dismissed workers and address the wage disparity allegations.

Dangote Hits Back

Reacting sharply, Dangote Petroleum Refinery described PENGASSAN’s order as “criminal, lawless and economic sabotage.”

The company warned that the directive amounted to an attempt to disrupt supplies of essential products such as petrol, diesel, aviation fuel, kerosene and cooking gas, which millions of Nigerians depend on daily.

“It constitutes criminal conduct for PENGASSAN or its members to disrupt supply contracts between Dangote Refinery and its vendors. No law gives PENGASSAN the right to cut off crude or gas supply to the refinery,” the company said in a statement.

Dangote further stressed that the refinery is a strategic national asset and one of Africa’s largest, warning that the union’s actions could discourage foreign investment and threaten Nigeria’s energy security.

The crisis comes just days after the refinery attempted to suspend naira payments for fuel, citing over-exhaustion of its naira crude allocations. However, following intervention from the Naira-for-Crude Technical Committee, chaired by Finance Minister Wale Edun, the company reversed its decision and announced the immediate resumption of PMS sales in naira.

The face-off between Dangote and PENGASSAN has heightened fears of a looming fuel supply crisis, with labour leaders framing the dispute as a test case for workers’ rights in the oil and gas sector.

Meanwhile, the Nigeria Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress are closely monitoring the standoff, while pressure mounts on the Federal Government to step in and broker peace before the refinery shutdown ripples into a nationwide energy crisis.