Dangote Debunks Ahmed’s Allegation of Substandard Products, Says His Fuels Better than Imported, Offers Proof

*Challenges NMDPRA on its testing laboratories 

*Says refinery to hit 550,000 bpd, 85% output this year 

*Insists only five of 15 expected crude oil cargoes received from NNPC

*Analyst insists refinery can sell products at pre-commissioning stage

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

President of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, yesterday debunked the allegation by the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Farouk Ahmed that the petroleum products from his refinery were substandard, insisting that his products are better than imported ones.
Dangote, who provided evidence to back up his claim with test results of samples of diesel collected from two different filling stations and another one from his refinery, called on the NMDPRA to review its testing laboratory.

According to him, the testing at high sea, which the industry regulator largely relies on, cannot be trusted.
He further disclosed that his refinery will hit production of 550,000 bpd of crude oil this year, equivalent to 85 per cent of its full capacity, explaining that the plant had only received five crude cargoes from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) since it started operating, instead of the 15 cargoes it had expected.

Speaking when the leadership of the House of Representatives led by its Speaker, Hon. Tajudeen Abbas took a tour of the 650,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) capacity facility in Lagos, Dangote expressed doubts over the quality of laboratories used in testing the standard of fuels in the country.
To back up his claim, Dangote and his team tested samples of diesel bought from two different filling stations and another one from his refinery.
He admitted that when the refinery started, it was churning out diesel with a sulphur content of between 600 parts per million (ppm) and 650ppm, adding that it was the best quality at the time.
While stating that the quality of his diesel has improved as the sulphur content has reduced to 87ppm, Dangote added that by next Monday, it will reduce to 50ppm.

According to him, the sulphur content will further reduce to 10ppm by next month, insisting that no facility is currently producing better quality fuels than his refinery.
The President of the Dangote Group stressed that he just got results from an earlier sample, which was reading 32ppm.
Farouk had claimed that the diesel and jet fuel from the refinery were of lower quality than the one imported by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC).

“So, in terms of quality, currently…Dangote refinery as well as some major refineries like Waltersmith refinery, produce between 650ppm to 1,200 ppm. So, in terms of quality, their quality is much inferior to the imported quality,” Ahmed added.
However, results of samples of diesel collected from different filling stations and Dangote Refinery, which were taken in the presence of the lawmakers, showed that the sulphur content in the diesel from the two stations was much higher than the recommended level.
“I want to plead with the regulator to come, whether Sunday or Monday and I can guarantee you that before they come here it will be even below 10ppm,” he stated.

Dangote noted that the sulphur content of the diesel bought from the two filling stations were over 1,800ppm and 2,600ppm, respectively.
He stated that testing at high sea, which the industry regulator largely relies on, cannot be trusted, stressing that oil traders can decide to write any figure to beat the system.
“The most important thing is to note that the imported ones they are encouraging, is the spec in the test, but in certain cases when you check, different results will show. This is because those people who have the lab have been told what to write,” he said.
He called on the House of Representatives to investigate the quality of diesel in the country, lamenting the damage being done to vehicles and engines by substandard products.

He also called on the House to investigate the quality of laboratories being used to test imported products and compare that with the one at his refinery.
Dangote informed the lawmakers that he was also open to independent testing of his refinery’s products as that would only attest to their quality while exposing the problem with some of the products being sold by other players in the sector.

Dangote dismissed monopoly claims, insisting that the Dangote Group did not receive any special incentive when the refinery was being built.
Also speaking, Abbas said going by the presentation and the contradictory claims, there was a need for an investigation.
“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,” Abbas added.

Meanwhile, Dangote has also explained that the refinery will hit production of 550,000 bpd this year, equivalent to 85 per cent of full capacity.
Dangote said the refinery opted to increase crude imports due to insufficient domestic supplies, a Reuters report stated.
He explained that the refinery had only received five crude cargoes from the NNPC since it started operation earlier this year, instead of the 15 it had expected.
“That is why we went ahead and bought some Brazilian crude; we also got US crude. Anytime we go to IOCs (International Oil Companies) they say ‘go to brokers,” Dangote said.
He added that brokers were charging a $4 mark-up per barrel of crude, the report added.
NNPC had in the past agreed to supply the refinery 300,000 bpd but it was struggling with low production and some of its crude was being exchanged for petrol imports.

In a related development, an oil sector analyst and the Co-founder as well as Chief Executive of Dairy Hills, Kelvin Emmanuel, at the weekend maintained that despite not being fully licensed by the NMDPRA, the Dangote refinery could churn out products at the pre-commissioning stage.
Emmanuel, who aired his opinion in a post on X, stated that the NMDPRA has officials who should have monitored the refinery for the past 12 months to ensure compliance, from mechanical to electrical processes.
Describing NMDPRA’s position as a misrepresentation, Emmanuel stressed that a test for pre-commissioning doesn’t mean the refinery is not already in production.

According to him, it simply means the refinery is not yet functioning at full capacity utilisation..
“This is a misrepresentation. Commercial refineries undergo seven stages of pre-commissioning. NMDPRA has officials who stayed with the refinery for 12 months to check the entire system from mechanical to electrical and monitor the processes.
“After six months of testing wet production, they issued them a Provisional Acceptance Certificate (PAC) for licence to operate. After 12 months, they issue them a final acceptance certificate for a licence to operate. That test is currently nearing 180 days for PAC.
“Wet production test for pre-commissioning doesn’t mean the refinery is not already in production, it means the refinery is not yet functioning at full capacity utilisation.

“The very fact that the condensation distillation unit has not fully gone into effect is the reason his diesel is currently producing 150-200 parts per million (ppm) in terms of sulphur content—that will drop to below 50 ppm when all the centrifuges come into operation.
“It’s utterly disappointing that the NMDPRA chief, in trying to sell a narrative, will attempt to de-market the refinery and mislead the public,” the oil and gas sector analyst explained.