The Dangote Petroleum Refinery has filed a new lawsuit at the Federal High Court in Lagos, challenging the continued issuance of fuel import licences to marketers and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) Ltd.
At the centre of the case are permits granted or renewed by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, which the refinery argues violate both an earlier court decision and provisions of Nigeria’s petroleum laws.
According to court documents seen by Reuters, the company is asking the court to nullify the licences, insisting that such approvals should only be granted when local refining capacity cannot meet national demand.
The latest suit comes months after the refinery withdrew a similar legal challenge against fuel import approvals involving the NNPC and other marketers, a move that was not publicly explained.
In the fresh filing, the refinery warned that the recently issued permits could undermine its operations as it ramps up production capacity.
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As of the time of reporting, the regulatory authority had not issued an official response to the claims.
However, industry regulators and fuel marketers have repeatedly defended the need for continued petrol imports, arguing that they remain essential to prevent supply shortages across the country.
Nigeria has for years depended heavily on imported fuel due to underperformance of state-owned refineries.
The Dangote refinery, a $20 billion facility with a processing capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, was widely expected to reduce that dependence following the start of operations, though imports have persisted as output gradually increases.