The President/Chief Executive of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote
Nigeria’s daily oil and gas production declined significantly last week after a nationwide strike by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) forced the shutdown of critical facilities, according to an impact report.
The strike, which began on September 28, 2025, following the dismissal of hundreds of unionised staff at the Dangote Refinery over alleged sabotage, ended on Wednesday, October 1, 2025, when the company agreed to reinstate and reassign the affected workers.
According to Reuters, the strike cut roughly 283,000 barrels of crude oil per day, representing 16% of Nigeria’s total output, and 1.7 billion standard cubic feet of gas, while also reducing power generation by over 1,200 megawatts.
“The disruption posed a material threat to national energy security if prolonged,” the state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) cautioned.
NNPC added that despite activating contingency plans and deploying non-union staff, Dangote Refinery still faced “significant revenue losses” from missed crude liftings and gas sales.
Additionallly, key facilities forced offline included Shell’s Bonga floating production unit and the Oben gas plant. The three-day strike also delayed the restart of Nigeria LNG’s Trains 5 and 6, disrupted midstream networks, and held up cargo loadings at Dangote and export terminals such as Akpo, Brass, and Egina, raising the risk of demurrage charges.
The report further noted that at least five major maintenance and project deadlines were also missed.
Nigeria currently produces an average of 1.5 million barrels of crude oil per day, while the 650,000-barrel-per-day Dangote Refinery supplies between 35% and 50% of the country’s gasoline demand.
The union, PENGASSAN, suspended its action following government-mediated talks, which ensured that immediate supply risks were eased.
However, NNPC cautioned that systemic vulnerabilities remain.
Meanwhile, Dangote Refinery signed a two-year crude supply agreement with NNPC, guaranteeing steady feedstock for its operations and allowing transactions in naira after earlier supply suspensions.
The refinery, which is Africa’s largest, is already altering regional fuel flows by reducing Nigeria’s reliance on imports and boosting exports to neighbouring countries.
MA
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