The Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN) has said none of its members or private fuel depots imported any fuel outside the approved specifications by the authority.
DAPPMAN, in a statement entitled, “No Marketer or Depot Owner Imports Dirty Fuels As Claimed by Dangote Refinery” on Monday, said the information from the Dangote Refinery Management was inaccurate.
“Over this last weekend, the news broke on the lamentations of the Management of Dangote Industries Limited wherein they were quoted as having stated that the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has been granting licenses indiscriminately to marketers to import what they described as ‘dirty refined products’ into the country”.
“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 any fuel with specifications outside of the currently approved by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) into the country. We would also wish to state that the information from the Dangote Refinery Management is laced with inaccuracies”, DAPPMAN stated in denial of the Dangote Refinery claim.
The Vice President of Oil and Gas of Dangote Industries Limited, Devakumar Edwin said that the NMDPRA is indiscriminately licensing marketers to import “dirty refined products” into the country. Edwin alleged that despite Dangote’s effort to meet ECOWAS standards, the Authority gave licenses to marketers to import high-sulfur petrol from Russia into the country.
“The Federal Government issued 25 licenses to build a refinery and we are the only one that delivered on promise. In effect, we deserve every support from the Government,” stated the vice president who noted further, “It is good to note that from the start of production, more than 3.5 billion litres, which represents 90 per cent of our production, have been exported. We are calling on the Federal Government and regulators to give us the necessary support to create jobs and prosperity for the nation”.
DAPPMAN further stated that 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take place offshore Lome, a move which was vehemently protested and resisted by downstream operators and has been rescinded.
DAPPMAN recalled that between February and May 2024, the NMDPRA had allowed AGO imports with a maximum Sulphur content of 200/ppm, which was however 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 31st December 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 desulphurisation equipment as the Sulphur in its blends of AGO presently exceed 50/ppm.
“This again was resisted by DAPPMAN in its letter to the NMDPRA 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 over the 200/ppm imported by any marketer or depot owner”, the statement revealed.
Doubting the industry’s sense of national loyalty, DAPPMAN said, “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 have 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.”
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