The Dangote Refinery has debunked a report that it was reselling cargoes of crude oil it bought from Nigeria and the United States to other traders, describing the report as outright falsehood.
Reuters had reported that three of the four trade sources familiar with the matter said the reoffer was linked to technical problems at the refinery.
But the spokesperson for the Dangote Group, Mr Anthony Chiejina, in a statement on Saturday, debunked the report and urged the public to disregard such news as it only intends to scuttle the refinery.
Chiejina said the refinery still sources for crude from Angola and Libya and its crude distillation unit is in good condition.
The statement added: “Our attention has been drawn to a misleading report suggesting that our refinery’s crude distillation unit (CDU) is experiencing issues and that we are reselling crude oil.
“We categorically deny these claims. The Dangote refinery is not authorized to sell crude oil purchased from Nigeria, and our CDU is fully operational and functioning optimally.
“We advise the public to disregard these false narratives, which are likely driven by interests opposed to the local refining of fuels.”
The management of the refinery recently raised the alarm that the international oil companies (IOCs) operating in Nigeria are frustrating the business and has consistently frustrated the company’s requests for locally produced crude as feedstock for its refining process.
Specifically, the company alleged that the IOCs were deliberately and willfully frustrating the refinery’s efforts to buy local crude by hiking the cost above the market price by $6, thereby forcing the refinery to import crude from countries as far as the US, with its attendant high costs.
The Chairman of the Refinery, Alhaji Aliko Dangote also alleged that the oil industry was issuing permit to companies importing substandard products into Nigeria.
The allegation did not go down well with the regulator as the CEO of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Authority, Farouk Ahmed claimed that Dangote refinery and other modular refineries like Waltersmith and Aradel produced diesel with sulphur content ranging from 650 to 1200 ppm—a statement criticised by many Nigerians as a tactic to favour imported products over local ones.