2025-09-27 15:07

PENGASSAN orders halt of energy supply to Dangote Refinery Dangote Refinery calls union's actions lawless Dispute adds pressure on refinery amid crude shortages LAGOS, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Nigeria's oil workers' union has ordered members to cut off gas supply to the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, escalating a labour dispute after hundreds of workers were dismissed and threatening to disrupt fuel supply in Africa's most populous nation. The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) directed branches at major oil firms to enforce an immediate halt to crude and gas deliveries to the refinery. Sign up here. The union accused Dangote management of "misinformation and propaganda" instead of addressing the alleged wrongful disengagement of unionised employees, according to a letter dated September 26 seen by Reuters. The Dangote Refinery said on Friday it had laid off a small number of workers, citing sabotage in various units. That sparked criticism from an oil workers' union which said over 800 Nigerian workers were fired and allegedly replaced with foreign nationals mostly from India. DISPUTE ADDS FURTHER PRESSURE TO DANGOTE REFINERY "Crude oil supply valves to the refinery should be shut" and loading of vessels headed there halted immediately, PENGASSAN General Secretary Lumumba Okugbawa wrote. Dangote Refinery said the dismissals were part of a reorganisation to improve safety and efficiency. It said late on Saturday that "absolutely no law gives PENGASSAN the right to direct its branches to 'cut off' gas and crude oil supplies to Dangote Refinery or at all," or to interfere or disrupt its contracts with vendors and suppliers. The dispute mounts pressure on the $20 billion refinery, which said it would suspend petrol sales in naira from September 28 due to crude supply shortfalls and foreign exchange mismatches. The move has raised concerns about rising fuel prices and further strain on Nigeria's fragile currency. PENGASSAN said chairs of union chapters at oil majors must "report promptly the progress of the directive," signalling a coordinated shutdown could disrupt the country's fuel supplies. https://www.reuters.com/business/world-at-work/nigerias-oil-union-orders-halt-gas-supply-dangote-refinery-over-mass-sackings-2025-09-27/

2025-09-27 13:33

KYIV, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Ukrainian long-range drones hit an oil pumping station in Russia's Chuvashia region, causing a fire and suspending its operations, a Ukrainian security official said on Saturday. "The SBU (security service) continues to impose sanctions on the Russian oil sector, which brings the aggressor country excess profits that go to the war against Ukraine," the official told Reuters. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/ukraine-says-its-drones-hit-oil-pumping-station-russias-chuvasia-2025-09-27/

2025-09-27 10:21

LAGOS, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Nigeria's Dangote refinery has suspended domestic sales of petrol in the local naira currency, citing unsustainable volumes that exceeded its crude allocations, according to a company memo to customers seen by Reuters. The suspension, effective September 28, could complicate efforts to ease dollar demand in Africa's largest economy, where fuel imports have long strained foreign reserves. Sign up here. "Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals has been selling petroleum products in excess of our Naira-Crude allocations and, consequently, we are unable to sustain PMS sales in Naira going forward," the company said in the memo. The refinery had been selling petrol in naira on the domestic market under a crude-for-naira swap arrangement with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company. The initiative was initially welcomed by the government as a way to reduce dollar pressure and support the naira. However, Dangote's growing exports - including shipments of fuel oil, naphtha, and diesel to Europe, West Africa and the United States - have raised questions about domestic supply priorities. Customers with pending naira transactions were advised to formally request refunds, according to the memo. The refinery did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The suspension comes just days after Dangote laid off several Nigerian workers, according to sources familiar with the matter. Nigeria is battling to bring down inflation running above 20% and to shore up a weakening currency, exacerbated by dollar shortages and subsidy reforms. Analysts say the decision to halt naira sales could push more marketers to source petrol in dollars, further pressuring the naira. The 650,000-barrels-per-day refinery, Africa's largest, was expected to transform Nigeria's fuel landscape. But its domestic obligations and export ambitions are now under scrutiny. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/nigerias-dangote-refinery-halts-naira-petrol-sales-over-crude-supply-constraints-2025-09-27/

2025-09-27 06:42

Flows start smoothly and rapidly, Iraq's oil ministry says Iraq's OPEC delegate says country can export more than its current quantity Resumption allows 180,000-190,000 bpd of crude to flow Sept 27 (Reuters) - Crude oil flowed on Saturday through a pipeline from the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region in northern Iraq to Turkey for the first time in 2-1/2 years, after an interim deal broke a deadlock, Iraq's oil ministry said. The resumption started at 6 a.m. local time (0300 GMT), according to a statement from the ministry. Sign up here. "Operations started at a rapid pace and with complete smoothness without recording any significant technical problems," the ministry said. The agreement between Iraq's federal government, the Kurdistan regional government (KRG) and foreign oil producers operating in the region will allow 180,000 to 190,000 barrels per day of crude to flow to Turkey's Ceyhan port, Iraq's oil minister told Kurdish broadcaster Rudaw on Friday. US PRESSURE TO RESUME KURDISH FLOWS The U.S. had pushed for a restart, which is expected to eventually bring up to 230,000 bpd of crude back to international markets at a time when OPEC+ is boosting output to gain market share. Iraq's delegate to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Mohammed al-Najjar, said his country can export more than it is now after the resumption of flows via the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline, in addition to other planned projects at Basra port, state news agency INA reported on Saturday. "OPEC member states have the right to demand an increase in their (production) shares especially if they have projects that led to an increase in production capacity," he said. Iraq's oil ministry undersecretary Bassem Mohamed told Reuters that the resumption of Kurdish oil flows will help raise the country's exports to nearly 3.6 million bpd in the coming days. Iraq's production and export levels will remain within its OPEC quota of 4.2 million bpd, he said. Iraq, the group's largest overproducer, was among states that submitted updated plans to OPEC in April to make further oil output cuts to compensate for pumping above agreed quotas. Flows through the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline were halted in March 2023 when the International Chamber of Commerce ordered Turkey to pay Iraq $1.5 billion in damages for unauthorised exports by the Kurdish regional authorities. Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar also confirmed the resumption of oil exports to Turkey from Iraq in a post on X. SETTLING OUTSTANDING DEBTS The preliminary plan, agreed last Wednesday, calls for the KRG to commit to delivering at least 230,000 bpd to Iraq's state oil marketer SOMO, while keeping an additional 50,000 bpd for local use, according to Iraqi officials with knowledge of the agreement. An independent trader will handle sales from the Turkish port of Ceyhan using SOMO's official prices. For each barrel sold, $16 is to be transferred to an escrow account and distributed proportionally to producers, with the rest of the revenue going to SOMO, the officials said. Norway's DNO (DNO.OL) , opens new tab said it had no immediate plans to export through the pipeline but that its local buyers could still ship its crude through it. The company and its joint-venture partner Genel Energy (GENL.L) , opens new tab have said the issue of Kurdistan's around $1 billion in arrears to producers, of which DNO is owed about $300 million, needs to be addressed. The eight oil companies , opens new tab that signed the deal and the KRG have agreed to meet within 30 days of exports resuming to work on a mechanism for settling the outstanding debts. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/iraq-resumes-kurdistan-oil-exports-turkey-after-2-12-year-halt-reports-rudaw-2025-09-27/

2025-09-27 05:29

DUBAI, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Crude oil flows from Iraq's northern Kurdistan region to Turkey resumed on Saturday for the first time in two and a half years. Here are details about the dispute that halted the piped supply of some 450,000 barrels per day (bpd) in March 2023: Sign up here. WHAT PROMPTED THE SHUTDOWN? Turkey shut the pipeline following an International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) ruling which ordered it to pay Iraq about $1.5 billion in damages for unauthorised oil exports from Iraqi Kurdistan between 2014 and 2018. Iraq had filed for arbitration in 2014 with the Paris-based ICC over Turkey's role in facilitating exports from Kurdistan without the consent of the federal government. Baghdad sought $33 billion in damages, arguing that its national oil marketing company, SOMO, held sole authority for exporting Iraq's oil. The ICC has not yet ruled on a second arbitration case covering exports from 2018 onwards. WHY IS IT IMPORTANT FOR THE OIL MARKET? Iraq is OPEC's second-largest oil producer and exports around 3.4 million bpd from its southern ports. The latest deal will add some 180,000 to 190,000 bpd from the north, Iraq's oil minister told Kurdish broadcaster Rudaw, and this is expected to rise to some 230,000 bpd. The U.S. government had pushed for a restart, as higher supply could help ease crude prices, something the Trump administration has prioritised while simultaneously pledging to cut neighbouring Iran's crude exports to zero. The move is also in line with recent efforts by OPEC+ oil-producing countries to increase output to gain market share. WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? Eight oil companies operating in Iraqi Kurdistan, representing over 90% of production, have reached agreements with Baghdad and the KRG to resume exports. The Kurdistan Regional Government will deliver the crude to SOMO and an independent trader will handle sales from Ceyhan using SOMO's official prices. Producers will get $16 per barrel. For the Kurdistan region, the resumption of oil exports via the Iraq Turkey Pipeline will ease economic strain that had seen salary delays for public sector workers and cuts to essential services. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/why-iraq-turkey-oil-pipeline-was-halted-2-12-years-2025-09-27/

2025-09-27 02:07

JAKARTA, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Indonesia state energy firm Pertamina said fuel retailer Vivo Energy Indonesia (Vivo) has agreed to buy 40,000 barrels of gasoline, out of the 100,000 barrel cargo Pertamina has imported, to help relieve fuel shortages at private retailers. Shell (SHEL.L) , opens new tab, BP-AKR - the operator of BP's (BP.L) , opens new tab fuel stations - Vivo and others ran low on supply this month as more customers turned to them after a probe into the quality of Pertamina's own gasoline. Sign up here. The government has since permitted private retailers to import more fuel via Pertamina to address the shortages. "Vivo has agreed to a business-to-business process with Pertamina Patra Niaga. Of the 100,000 barrels imported cargo offered, Vivo will absorb 40,000 barrels to serve its customers," Pertamina's retail unit corporate secretary Roberth Dumatubun said late on Friday. Pertamina Patra Niaga had ordered 16,000 kilolitres (100,640 barrels) of gasoline that arrived this week and offered the cargo to petrol station operators including Shell and BP-AKR, the state firm said. Following the agreement, a quality and quantity test on the gasoline will be carried out by a surveyor appointed by the two parties, Dumatubun said. An energy ministry spokesperson also said that fuel for private retailers had arrived and the companies were discussing distribution. BP-AKR declined to comment. Shell declined to immediately comment. The energy ministry estimated that about 571,000 kilolitres of Pertamina's remaining 7.52 million kilolitre import quota could by used to meet the needs of the private retailers. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/indonesias-pertamina-offers-gasoline-supply-shell-bp-stations-2025-09-26/