By Chisaa Okoye (Business Reporter)

The Association therefore declared that “the information from the Dangote Refinery Management is laced with inaccuracies”.

Devakumar Edwin, the Vice President, Oil and Gas at DIL,  had accused NMDPRA of issuing licenses indiscriminately to oil marketers to import dirty refined products into the country.

“Inspite of the fact that we are producing and bringing out diesel into the market, complying with ECOWAS regulations and standards, licenses are being issued, in large quantities, to traders who are buying the extremely high sulphur diesel from Russia and dumping it in the Nigerian Market.

“Since the US, EU and UK imposed a Price Cap Scheme from 5th February, 2023 on Russian Petroleum Products, a large number of vessels are waiting near Togo with Russian ultra-high sulphur diesel and, they are being purchased and dumped into the Nigerian Market”, Edwin categorically stated.

Reacting to the allegation, DAPPMAN stated that no member of the association and indeed, no private fuels depot has imported into the country any fuel with specification that is outside of the regulation other than what is currently approved by the NMDPRA

According to the Association, the downstream regulatory authority, (NMDPRA), in the very recent past had initially objected to offtakes by our daughter vessels from import mother vessels, via Ship-to-ship operations which usually take place offshore Lome, a move which was vehemently protested and resisted by downstream operators and has been rescinded.

It explained that “between February and May 2024, the NMDPRA had allowed AGO imports with maximum sulphur content of 200/ppm however this was followed by another move, by the regulator, to fast forward the country target date of the implementation of the 50/ppm sulphur limitation on PMS and AGO imports, from 31stDecember 2024 to 1st June 2024, thereby limiting all marketers and depots’ AGO source to Dangote Refinery even though the latter was yet to install its desulphurization equipment as the sulphur in its blends of AGO presently exceed 50/ppm.

The marketers added: “This again was resisted by DAPPMAN in its letter to the NMDPRA which was dated 10th June 2024 to warn and alert the regulator not to ‘inadvertently promote and introduce a monopoly into the sector.

“With stiff resistance at every attempt at introducing a Dangote Refinery monopoly into the downstream, and the fact that the latter, despite its most recent production of AGO with sulphur contents reported at 1200/ppm, it is baffling to us that the Management of Dangote Industries (including the Dangote Refinery), who are very much aware of these facts, could claim that the NMDPRA has been granting licenses indiscriminately to marketers to import ‘dirty refined products’ into the country.

“Their current blend of AGO, with reported sulphur contents of 1200/ppm is technically classified as ‘dirty fuel’ and grossly in excess of the 200/ppm imported by any marketer or depot owner.

The marketers declared: “Dangote Refinery as a business entity is free to adopt any model that suits its management however its current practice of cheaper bulk sales prices to international buyers at the detriment of Nigerian buyers calls to question their patriotism to the country.

“Several Nigerian marketers had in recent past been offered Dangote Refinery cargoes by international trading firms at rates that are very much lower than what they were directly offered by Dangote Refinery, and this will not be in the interest of the Nigerian fuel end-user.

“There is no doubt that the success of Dangote Refinery will be a thing of pride to the nation, but all downstream operators and their activities must be in tandem with the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021 which abhors ‘monopoly’ of any sort.

“DAPPMAN will continue to work with all stakeholders, including Dangote Refinery willingly to provide safe, healthy fuels to all Nigerians competitively giving them great and affordable fueling options for their daily activities”.