On Monday, Aliko Dangote, president of the Dangote Group and Africa’s richest man, alleged that officials of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited and certain oil traders are operating blending plants in Malta, an island nation in Southern Europe. Speaking before the House of Representatives, Dangote indicated that these blending activities are widely known among industry stakeholders.
“Some of the terminals, some of the NNPC people, and some traders have opened blending plants somewhere off Malta. We all know these areas. We know what they are doing,” Dangote stated.
He attributed vehicle problems in Nigeria to the influx of substandard imported fuel, arguing that locally produced diesel is of superior quality compared to its imported counterparts. Dangote urged the House leadership to establish an independent committee to verify the quality of petrol sold in Nigeria, particularly at filling stations.
“I want you to set up a committee that will come with every representative headed by your chosen honourable member to come and lead in taking samples from filling stations because I must tell you today that all the test certificates that people are busy floating around, where are the labs? Even if they have the labs, I can tell you they are fake certificates,” Dangote asserted.
This statement coincided with the commencement of a probe by the House of Representatives Joint Committee on Petroleum Resources (downstream and midstream) into claims that local refineries produce inferior products. Last Thursday, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) stated that the Nigerian government had not yet licensed the Dangote Refinery to begin operations.
Farouk Ahmed, CEO of NMDPRA, claimed that the products from Dangote Refinery are of lower quality compared to imported fuels. “Dangote Refinery, as well as some major refineries like Walter Smith’s refinery, produce 650 to 1,200 ppm. So, in terms of quality, their quality is much, much inferior to the imported commodities,” Ahmed said.
However, the Dangote Group refuted these claims, asserting that their products are superior to imported ones. The group suggested that certain entities are unhappy with Dangote’s involvement in the oil industry and are attempting to undermine him.
“Until late last year, diesel imports into Nigeria were up to 7,000 parts per million (ppm) of Sulphur which has been going on for many years. Our diesel is produced currently at significantly lower levels of Sulphur; as such, we find baseless the allegation that the reason for the reduction is linked to quality. What we are producing is 80 percent of what is being imported into the country,” Anthony Chiejine, spokesperson for Dangote Industries Limited, stated.
Chiejine also dismissed the assertion that Medium Level Sulphur diesel is meant for off-road use as false, arguing that such a statement would imply that all imports over the past 20 years have been damaging equipment.