Dangote counters NMDPRA on substandard products claim, tests diesel before lawmakers

Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man, has refuted claims that petroleum products from his refinery are substandard.

Dangote rejected the allegations on Saturday when members of the house of representatives visited the refinery in Lagos.

Tajudeen Abbas, speaker of the house of representative and Benjamin Kalu, the deputy, led the delegation.

On July 18, Farouk Ahmed, chief executive officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), said local refineries, including the Dangote refinery, were producing inferior products compared to imports. 

In his defense during the visit on Saturday,  Dangote said diesel bought from two filling stations and that from his refinery were tested at the refinery’s laboratories.

Dangote said the test was carried out using an Energy Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence (ED-XRF) Spectro Photometer, using the ASTM D4294 method.

ASTM D4294 test method provides rapid and precise measurement of total sulfur in petroleum and petroleum products with a minimum of sample preparation. A typical analysis time is 1 min to 5 min per sample.

He said the diesel was bought in the presence of the lawmakers.

“Our quality is about 600 to 650 ppm and is one of the best in terms of quality at that time when we started.  But as at today, we’re at 87 ppm,” he said

“I want to plead with the regulator to come at any time, whether Sunday or Monday, or take the sample and I guarantee you before he gets here, our PPM will be even below 10. 

“When we’re coming here, his excellency, the speaker said, can we please wait to pick up samples from two filling stations? And also when we get into our plant, they will pick a sample to check the results.

“The results are actually out and I’m going to share the same results with you.

“The sample from TotalEnergies’s diesel showed 1,829ppm sulphur concentration. The sample from Matrix Retail showed 2,653ppm. Matrix was 61 below 66 and Total is 26 flash point 

“Our flash point showed 96. If you want to do the rest, we can run it at any given time.

“Today I want to announce to Nigerians that our parameters today are extremely, very good parameters.

“By the end of next week, we should be on 50ppm and by August, it should be down to 10ppm.”

The flash point of any liquid is the lowest temperature at which it will produce sufficient vapour to produce a flammable mixture in the air.

Dangote also said the best way to determine the quality of products being imported and sold to Nigerians is by going to the filling stations and buying and testing them.

“The most important thing, your excellency, is to note that the imported one they are encouraging, is the spec in the test, but in certain cases when you check (independently), different results will show,” Dangote added.

‘INVESTIGATION MUST BE DONE’

He further said the result does not only prove the reality of products from his refinery, but it also shows that substandard petroleum products are being imported into the country and sold to unsuspecting Nigerians.

“Speaker Abbas said going by the presentation and the contradictory claims, there was a need for an investigation,” Dangote added.

“I don’t know how we have this contradiction of two players representing the public and private sector.

“I think it is something we need to investigate further to find out if there are ulterior motives.”

On June 4, Dangote said some international oil companies (IOCs) were struggling to supply crude to his refinery.

Speaking on Arise TV on July 15, Gbenga Komolafe, chief executive officer of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) described the claim as “erroneous” as the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) has provisions that guide willing buyer-willing seller transactions.

A few days later, the management of DIL insisted that IOCs were frustrating its request to purchase crude feedstock for the Dangote refinery.

The Dangote refinery intends to commence the supply of petrol in August.