Nigeria’s oil and gas production dropped sharply during a brief nationwide strike by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), which ended on Wednesday after government-mediated talks with Dangote Refinery.
The strike, which began on September 28, was triggered by the dismissal of some workers at the Dangote Refinery, Africa’s largest crude processing facility with a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day.
In a letter dated September 29, 2025, Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd)’s Group Chief Executive Officer, Bayo Ojulari, informed regulators that the industrial action led to significant production deferments and projected revenue losses from missed crude liftings and reduced gas sales.
He said, “Significant revenue losses are projected at current deferment levels, driven by missed liftings and gas sales. Cashflow pressures are immediate and compounding.
“NNPC continued engagement with operating partners and key stakeholders to enhance security and emergency protocols, activation of BCP with non-union staff taking over operations, where practicable.”
Ojulari added that the industrial action “has impacts that extend beyond the Dangote Refinery”.
He said the disruptions pose systemic risks to energy supply, personnel and asset security and the wider economy.
“Within the first 24 hours of the strike, the NNPC GCEO said production deferments “stood at approximately 283 kbopd of oil, 1.7 bscfd of gas, and over 1,200 MW of power generation impaction.
“This equates to around 16per cent of national oil output, 30per cent of marketed gas, and 20% of electricity generation,” he said.
The NNPC had warned the disruption posed a “material threat to national energy security” if prolonged.
Key facilities affected by strike
Key facilities shuttered during the action included the Shell-operated Bonga floating production unit and the Oben gas plant, while the restart of Nigeria LNG’s Train 5 and 6 was delayed, and midstream networks were disrupted.
Cargo loadings for Dangote refinery as well as at export terminals such as Akpo, Brass, and Egina were also delayed, risking demurrage costs, and at least five critical maintenance and project timelines slipped, the report said.
NNPC said it activated business continuity plans and deployed non-union staff to sustain operations during the stoppage but warned of “significant revenue losses” from missed liftings and gas sales.
Backstory
On Sunday, PENGASSAN ordered a nationwide strike in response to the dismissal of some Nigerian workers by the Dangote Refinery.
The association’s General Secretary, Lumumba Okugbawa, said the decision followed an emergency meeting of the union’s National Executive Council (NEC).
The Dangote Group dismissed reports of mass staff layoffs, clarifying that the ongoing reorganisation at its Petroleum Refinery affects only a small number of employees and is aimed at safeguarding operations and preventing sabotage.
The union suspended the strike after talks brokered by the government, easing immediate supply risks, though NNPC cautioned that systemic vulnerabilities remained.
There would definitely be losses because the system allows it. The organisation called PENGASSAN should have been scrapped completely because the strike is selfish and selk seeking. Such corrupt organisation should never have been allowed another day to live