By Bassey Udo
Oil marketers under the aegis of the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN) on Monday denied any involvement in allegations by Dangote Industries Limited (DIL) about oil marketers being granted license to import off-spec fuels into the country.
DIL, which are the owners and operators of the Dangote Oil Refinery and Petrochemicals Company, at the weekend accused the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) of indiscriminately issuing licenses to oil marketers to import dirty fuels into the country in a bid to frustrate their operations and efforts to ensure local refining of petroleum products.
The Vice President (Oil & Gas), DIL, Devakumar Edwin, who made the allegation during an interaction with energy reporters also accused the multinational Oil Companies in the country of making it difficult to secure supplies of crude oil at the prevailing market price for the refinery’s operations, forcing it to resort to importation of the commodity from U.S. and other countries.
But DAPPMAN in a reaction by its Executive Secretary, Olufemi Adewole, denied any involvement of any of its members in any importation of off-spec fuels into the country to undermine anybody.
“The Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN) wishes to state emphatically 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 Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and would wish to state that the information from the Dangote Refinery Management is laced with inaccuracies,” Adewole said.
To buttress his claim, Adewole said DAPPMAN and other downstream operators vehemently protested and resisted the decision by the NMDPRA to object to offtakes by its daughter vessels from import mother vessels, via ship-to-ship operations which usually take place offshore Lome.
He said between February and May 2024, the NMDPRA allowed automotive gas oil (AGO), popularly called diesel, imports with maximum sulphur content of 200/ppm.
This, he said, was followed by another regulatory action to fast forward the country’s target date for the implementation of the 50/ppm sulphur limitation on premium motor spirit (PMS) and AGO imports, from December 31, 2024 to June 1, 2024, to limit all marketers and depots’ AGO source to Dangote Refinery, despite that the company was yet to install its desulphurization equipment as the sulphur in its blends of AGO presently exceed 50/ppm.
Adewole said both regulatory actions were resisted by DAPPMAN in its letter to the NMDPRA June 10, 2024 to warn and alert the regulator against inadvertently promoting and introducing a monopoly into the downstream “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,” DAPPMAN said.
Although DAPPMAN said Dangote Refinery as a business entity was free to adopt any model that suits its management, the group noted that the company’s current practice of cheaper bulk sales prices to international buyers at the detriment of Nigerian buyers calls to question their patriotism to the country.
DAPPMAN disclosed that several Nigerian marketers had in recent past been offered Dangote Refinery cargoes by international trading firms at rates that were much lower than what they were directly offered by Dangote Refinery, against 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.” the group said.
“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,” it added.
