The Dangote refinery said that rising costs and uncertainty in crude oil prices have caused the refinery to reduce its crude oil purchases, which has reduced its fuel output, not because of a problem with the refinery itself. It added that the employees the company had laid off had attempted to sabotage it.
The company disclosed this during a tour of the refinery for journalists by Edwin Devakumar, the Group Executive Director of Dangote Group, following reports that the refinery had reduced operations.
"There is no company that operates at 100 percent every day without facing any problems," said Devakumar. He said the most important thing is to notice whether the problem affects output.
He said that in the design of the refinery, which was opened earlier this year, it was planned to have brief shutdowns for maintenance every five years, "unlike other older refineries which frequently stop working for repairs."
However, Reuters reported that the refinery has stopped working for repairs four times this year, which is uncommon for new refineries like Dangote's.
Regarding the recent layoffs, Devakumar said they discovered 22 attempted acts of sabotage by their employees, "including attempts to set fires and damage some equipment. We know the date it happened and even the section where the attempt was made," he said.