Why is the Dangote Refinery in Nigeria critically important to the UK’s jet fuel supply amid the Strait of Hormuz crisis?

The Dangote Refinery in Lagos is the main refinery on West Africa’s west coast exporting jet fuel to the UK for commercial flights, having started aviation fuel production in January 2024; according to Kpler, it supplied about 130,000 tonnes of jet fuel to the UK in March, forming a key part of the UK government’s strategy to offset the jet fuel shortage caused by the effective standstill of Gulf fossil fuel shipments after the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz on 28 February.

What were the core allegations against Dangote Refinery regarding union activity, and how did the Nigerian government and the company respond?

Unions accused Dangote Refinery of dismissing over 800 workers after they joined the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (Pengassan), replacing some with foreign nationals — allegations the company denied, stating only a limited reorganisation targeted disruptive staff; the Nigerian government intervened to affirm the right to union membership and secured an agreement for management to redeploy disengaged staff within the Dangote Group without loss of pay, and an internal memo confirmed affected workers were being recalled and reassigned to other sectors like salt, sugar, and cement.

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Dangote Refinery Key to UK Jet Fuel Strategy Amid Labor Dispute

May 4, 2026

The UK government relies on Nigeria's Dangote Refinery to mitigate jet fuel shortages amid the Strait of Hormuz crisis, despite union allegations of worker dismissals. Dangote denies the claims and continues supplying significant aviation fuel volumes to the UK market.

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