Dangote Refinery’s diesel inferior to imports; “refinery still in the pre-commissioning stage. We have not licensed them yet”_ NMDPRA

The CEO of Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Farouk Ahmed, has stated that the diesel produced by Dangote Refinery and other local refineries in the country is of inferior quality compared to imported products.

Ahmed noted that while the West African standard for diesel sulphur content is 50 ppm, Dangote Refinery and other major refineries produce diesel with sulphur content ranging from 650 to 1,200ppm.

“So, in terms of quality, currently, the AGO quality in terms of sulphur is the lowest as far as West African requirement of 50 ppm.

“Dangote Refinery, as well as some major refineries, like Walter Smith’s refinery, other refineries – they produce 650 to 1,200ppm. So, in terms of quality, their quality is much, much inferior to the imported commodities,” Ahmed said while speaking with journalists in Abuja on Thursday.

He explained that the refinery is still in the pre-commissioning stage and has not been licensed yet, and that relying solely on one refinery for national supply would promote monopoly and jeopardise energy security.

Ahmed’s comments come in response to allegations by Dangote Industries Limited that NMDPRA was attempting to sabotage Dangote Refinery’s operations by limiting crude oil supply from international oil companies (IOCs) thereby making it difficult for them to access local crude and forcing them to use middlemen and pay inflated prices.

He disclosed this while speaking with Journalists at the state House on Thursday that the Nigerian government was yet to license the Dangote refinery to begin operations in the country.

Ahmed said, “there are lots of concerns about the supply of petroleum products nationwide and the claims by some media houses that we were trying to scuttle Dangote refinery; that is not so.

“Dangote refinery is still in the pre-commissioning stage. It has not been licensed yet. We have not licensed them yet.

“I think they are at about 45 percent completion. So we can not rely heavily on one refinery to feed the nation because Dangote is requesting that we should suspend or stop all importation of petroleum products, especially automotive gas oil (AGO) or jet kero and direct all marketers to the refinery.”

Ahmed maintained that the request would promote monopoly in the market and was not good for the nation in terms of energy security. “So, in terms of quality, currently, the AGO quality in terms of sulfur in the lowest as far as a West African requirement of 50 ppm.

Devakumar Edwin, vice-president at Dangote Industries Limited had recently stated that IOCs were making it difficult to access local crude, often forcing them to use expensive middlemen and pay inflated prices.

Edwin claims that while only one local producer, Sapetro, sells directly to DIL, others rely on non-Nigerian trading arms that add unnecessary costs. He noted that IOCs have consistently hindered the company’s access to local crude, often offering it at a premium of $2-$4 per barrel above the official price set by NUPRC.