KEY POINTS
- Nigeria lost over 200,000 barrels of oil per day during the PENGASSAN strike, costing about N57.4 billion in three days.
- The strike stemmed from the dismissal of 800 Nigerian workers at Dangote Refinery, accused of sabotage.
- The disruption affected oil output, gas supply, and power generation, deepening the strain on Nigeria’s fragile economy.
Nigeria’s economy has taken another hit as the recent nationwide strike by senior oil workers, PENGASSAN, caused massive disruptions in crude oil production, gas supply, and electricity generation.
The three-day industrial action led to the loss of more than 200,000 barrels of crude oil per day, translating into billions of naira in deferred revenue for the federal government.
The Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), Bayo Ojulari, disclosed the figures after a meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
“In this particular case, we actually lost significant production of over 200,000 barrels per day that was deferred; we also had gas production deferred and power generation impacted,” Ojulari told reporters.
With an average oil price of $66 per barrel, the country lost approximately $39.6 million, or about N57.4 billion, during the period of the strike.
PENGASSAN and Dangote Refinery Clash Over Worker Sackings
The strike, organised by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, PENGASSAN, followed the dismissal of about 800 Nigerian workers by the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals.
The refinery, which has the capacity to process 650,000 barrels of crude per day, accused the affected staff of acts of sabotage that posed serious safety threats to the plant’s operations.
In a letter signed by Femi Adekunle, a human resource manager at the Dangote Group, management said the dismissals, effective from 25 September, were not arbitrary but necessary to safeguard the refinery from further sabotage and operational inefficiencies.
PENGASSAN, however, rejected the company’s explanation, insisting that the terminations were retaliation for the workers’ decision to join the union. The association also accused the refinery of plotting to replace the sacked employees with expatriates, a claim the company strongly denied.
As the dispute deepened, the union ordered its members to block gas supplies to the refinery, describing the move as a legitimate protest. Dangote Refinery responded by calling the action illegal, saying PENGASSAN had no right to interfere in its contracts with third-party gas and crude suppliers.
After days of tension and disruptions across the oil and gas industry, the strike was suspended last Wednesday following the federal government’s intervention and a truce reached between PENGASSAN and Dangote Refinery management.
