The Federal Government, through the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), is awaiting new reports to verify the actual sulphur content of diesel produced by the Dangote refinery, as the company refutes claims of producing inferior fuel.
In an interview on Sunday, NMDPRA spokesman George Ene-Ita stated that the agency had fulfilled its duties and would not engage in a media dispute over the assertions made by NMDPRA Chief Executive Farouk Ahmed. Ahmed had claimed that Dangote’s diesel contained more sulphur than imported diesel.
Ene-Ita mentioned that about 15 engineers and scientists from the authority are embedded in the Dangote refinery, and their fresh report on the sulphur content will be released on Monday (today).
Ahmed alleged that the diesel from the Dangote refinery had high sulphur content. Responding to Dangote's allegations that NMDPRA was issuing licenses to import substandard fuel into Nigeria, Ahmed argued that Dangote’s fuel had higher sulphur content. He also noted that the refinery, which has been selling diesel and aviation fuel in Nigeria for months, has yet to be licensed and is still in the pre-commissioning stage.
Ahmed clarified, “The claim by some media houses that there were steps to scuttle the Dangote refinery is not true. The Dangote refinery is still in the pre-commissioning stage and has not been licensed yet. It is about 45 percent complete.”
He warned that Nigeria could not rely solely on the Dangote refinery for its fuel supply. According to him, the refinery had requested the regulator to stop issuing import licenses to other marketers, which would create a monopoly and harm the nation's energy security.
Regarding quality, Ahmed said, “Currently, the AGO quality in terms of sulphur is the lowest as per the West African requirement of 50 ppm. Dangote refinery and some modular refineries, like Waltersmith and Aradel refineries, are producing between 650 to 1,200 ppm, which is inferior to the imported quality.”
During a tour of the refinery by members of the House of Representatives led by Speaker Hon. Tajudeen Abbas over the weekend, Dangote asserted that the products refined at their facility are of superior quality compared to imported fuel. The speaker and other members observed the testing of Automotive Gas Oil from two petrol stations alongside samples from the Dangote refinery. Diesel samples were collected from two well-known filling stations near Eleko junction along the Lekki-Epe Expressway, Lagos, by the lawmakers.
The Chairman of the House Committee on Downstream, Ikeagwunon Ugochinyere, and the Chairman of the House Committee on Midstream, Okojie Odianosen, oversaw the collection of samples from the Mild Hydro Cracking unit of the Dangote refinery. Laboratory tests revealed that Dangote’s diesel had a sulphur content of 87.6 ppm, while the other two samples showed sulphur levels exceeding 1,800 ppm and 2,000 ppm respectively.
