Victor Ezeja
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Dangote Refinery, Aliko Dangote, has refuted allegations by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) that the refinery is producing inferior quality diesel.
Dangote, who spoke with newsmen on Saturday, insisted that products from the 650,000 barrels per day refinery comply with set standards.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThe NMDPRA Chief Executive, Farouk Ahmed, had on Thursday, 18th July 2024, while responding to allegations that the Authority was allowing traders to import dirty fuel into Nigeria, said the diesel produced by Dangote Refinery is of inferior quality when compared to imported ones.
Ahmed claimed that the Dangote Refinery diesel contains a high sulphur content of about 1,000 parts per million (ppm).
He further alleged that the refinery, which has been supplying diesel and aviation fuel in Nigeria and also exporting to other countries for months, is still at the pre-commissioning stage and not yet licensed.
“In terms of quality, currently the AGO quality in terms of sulphur is the lowest as far as the West African requirement of 50 ppm is concerned,” Ahmed claimed.
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“Dangote Refinery and some modular refineries, like Waltersmith Refinery and Aradel Refinery, are producing between 650 to 1,200ppm. So, in terms of quality, their product is much more inferior to the imported quality,” the NMDRA boss added.
However, Dangote while reacting to the NMDPRA allegations said the refinery was initially producing product that had around 665 ppm, which was considered the best quality at the time, but currently, the sulfur level is at 32 ppm,
He added that by the beginning of August, when the company will begin to distribute petrol, the level will have further reduced to 10 ppm.
“In terms of quality, when we started, our quality was about 650,000 ppm, the ppm was one of the best in terms of quality at the time we started.
“But as of today, we are at 87 ppm. And you can take a sample on Monday. By Monday, we will be less than 50 ppm. By the beginning of August, we will be at 10 ppm.
“In terms of quality, nobody can produce anything better than us. I just got the result from our official 5 minutes ago, we are now down to even 32 ppm,” Dangote said
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Dangote called on regulators, including the NMDPRA, to visit the refinery and test the quality of the products.
According to him, some filling stations in the country are selling products with sulfur levels as high as 1000 ppm and above.
“I want to plead to the regulators to come at any time and before they get here, our ppm will be below 10”, Dangote added.
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Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with seven years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Master's degree in Mass Communication.
