.Marketers fight Dangote in court over ‘planned monopoly’
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, has said the era of bureaucracy is gone from Nigeria’s oil and gas sector, as he assured international investors that they no longer need personal connections to obtain oil blocks or licences.
However, three oil marketers are at loggerheads with the President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, over alleged plans by the latter to monopolise the oil sector of the country’s economy.
They told the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court that the planned monopoly of the energy sector by Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals would spell doom for the country.
Speaking at the ‘Invest in Nigeria’ segment of the African Energy Week (AEW) in Cape Town, South Africa, yesterday, Lokpobiri stressed the government’s commitment to make Nigeria an accessible and transparent destination for global investments.
“Everyone seems to be saying, and I agree, that Nigeria is a prime destination for investments. It is like any other country. It is not a miracle that people bring in their capital to invest there,” Lokpobiri said.
The minister noted that “Nigeria welcomes the divestments” by international oil companies (IOCs) from onshore and shallow water assets, as these transitions provide an opportunity for local players to step up.
According to him, indigenous companies have the expertise and capacity to manage these assets effectively, even before the wave of divestments.
“Nigerians are developing these greenfield projects, and Nigeria will not lose anything in terms of how these operations are professionally managed,” Lokpobiri stated.
He also highlighted reforms aimed at reducing bureaucracy and eliminating the perception that investors must know the minister or have personal connections to secure licences.
“On my first day, I signed three refinery licences that were on my desk without meeting the applicants,” he said, explaining that the government reduced bureaucratic barriers to allow smoother, faster access to licences, creating a fairer system for all investors.
The minister cited ongoing efforts by the African Petroleum Producers’ Organisation (APPO) and AfreximBank to strengthen local funding options and address some of the financial challenges African energy companies face.
Three marketers, AYM Shafa Limited, A. A. Rano Limited and Matrix Petroleum Services Limited, in their replies to a suit filed by Dangote Petroleum, the plaintiff in suit number THC/CS/ABM/1324/2024, told the court that “the plaintiff does not produce adequate petroleum products for the daily consumption of Nigerians, and there is nothing before the court to prove the contrary.”
Dangote had, in September 2024, sued the Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), AYM Shafa Limited, A. A. Rano Limited, T. Time Petroleum Limited, 2015 Petroleum Limited and Matrix Petroleum Services Limited.
In the suit dated September 6, the plaintiff prayed the court to declare that NMDPRA violates Sections 317(8) and (9) of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) by issuing licences for the importation of petroleum products.
He stated that such licences should only be issued in circumstances where there is a petroleum product shortfall, urging the court to declare that NMDPRA violated its statutory responsibilities under the PIA for not encouraging local refineries.
However, the marketers, in their response dated November 5, 2024, told the court that they were qualified and entitled to be issued an import licence to import petroleum products in Nigeria within the meaning of Section 317(9) of PIA.
They added that vesting the plaintiff with the power of monopoly in the country’s petroleum industry, as it sought, vide the instant suit, would kill competitive pricing of petroleum products in Nigeria, further deteriorate the country’s critically ailing economy “and unleash untold hardship on Nigerians, all of which constitute a recipe for disaster in the polity.”
