Victor EzejaDangote Petroleum Refinery has debunked reports that it is reselling crude oil imported from the United States and the ones sourced from Nigeria.
A report by Reuters on Friday, 26th July, cited three sources saying the Dangote Refinery resold crude cargoes because of technical issues at the refinery that affected the Crude Distillation Unit (CDU).
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThe report said Cargoes of US West Texas Intermediary (WTI) Midland crude and Nigerian Escravos and Forcados crude were among the grades being offered for sale.
However, Chief Branding and Communication Officer, Dangote Group, Anthony Chiejina, in a statement described the report as false and misleading.
Chiejina said the company’s crude distillation unit is working perfectly, adding that it doesn’t have the right to resell crude bought from Nigeria.
He advised the public to ignore any narrative regarding reselling crude.
“Our attention has been drawn to a misleading report on our crude distillation unit and also that we are offering crude for re-sale,” Chiejina said.
“This is outright falsehood as we are not authorised to sell any crude we buy from Nigeria!
“Also, our CDU is working and in perfect condition.
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“We advise that you ignore these false narratives being peddled by those bent on the importation of dirty fuels into the country.”
Prime Business Africa reports that this development comes amid ongoing dispute between the Dangote Refinery Limited and some agencies in the Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.
The 650,000 barrels per day refinery built by Africa’s richest person, Aliko Dangote, at the cost of $20 billion started operations in January this year. The plan is for the refinery to meet Nigeria’s demand for refined petroleum and reverse the trend of importation which has been going on for years despite the country being the largest crude oil producer in Africa.
The management of Dangote Refinery had last week alleged that some international oil companies (IOCs) were frustrating requests from it to buy crude feedstock for the refinery.
Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Farouk Ahmed, said imported petroleum products were better than what local refineries including Dangote Refinery were producing. He also alleged that Dangote wants to have monopoly of supplying refined petroleum products across the country and that would not be good for the country.
The comment triggered reactions from Nigerians who accused the NMDPRA CEO of scheming to de-market the company.
Dangote on 20th July denied the claim, saying the refinery’s products complied with international standards, especially the level of sulphur content. He invited the regulatory agency to visit the refinery and examine the products, claiming that laboratory tests showed they were better than imported ones being distributed across the country.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with six years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Masters degree in Mass Communication.
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