Dangote Refinery still operating despite PENGASSAN strike

Dangote Petroleum Refinery has continued operating despite a nationwide strike by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), which has disrupted logistics and heightened tensions in the oil sector, company and trade sources confirmed on Tuesday.

Initial reports suggested that the entrance to the 650,000-barrel-per-day facility in Lagos was blocked by striking workers, but refinery operations have not been fully halted.

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The industrial action, which began on Sunday, is already attracting the attention of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), PENGASSAN’s parent body, raising fears of broader solidarity protests that could worsen pressure on the refinery’s operations.

A mediation meeting convened on Monday to resolve the standoff ended in deadlock after more than nine hours of deliberations.

The talks, chaired by labour minister Muhammad Dingyadi, brought together leaders of PENGASSAN, representatives of Dangote Refinery, the finance ministry, and top officials of both the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority.

Festus Osifo, PENGASSAN’s president, said negotiations failed because Dangote management refused to reinstate 800 workers whose dismissal sparked the dispute.

He said the union would continue its action until those workers were reinstated.

“Our position has been very clear; you have to reinstate these people. If you reinstate them tonight, we will call off our action tonight but unfortunately, that reinstatement did not happen. And we were not able to reach conclusions on the subject,” Osifo told journalists after the meeting.

Read also: PENGASSAN strike continues, as mediation talk ends in deadlock

The meeting continues today, according to reports. But for now, Dangote Refinery appears largely unshaken, with operations ongoing despite the union’s threats and the unresolved conflict.