Oil marketers fire back at Dangote, deny importing ‘Off-Spec’ petrol
Oil marketers in Nigeria have strongly refuted claims made by the Dangote Petroleum Refinery that dealers were importing substandard Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) into the country.
On Thursday, the marketers declared that all petrol imported into Nigeria meets regulatory standards, being certified by both the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).
The rebuttal was in response to a statement made earlier in the week by Dangote Refinery. The refinery had asserted that the deregulation of the downstream sector should not lead to the importation of off-spec petroleum products, which it said could undermine Nigeria’s interests.
It particularly singled out Pinnacle Oil and Gas Limited, accusing it and other marketers of potentially blending substandard imports with high-quality products from Dangote.
Pinnacle’s Managing Director, Robert Dickerman, dismissed the accusations, highlighting the stringent inspections carried out on imported products.
“Our products are subjected to inspections by independent inspectors, the NMDPRA, and SON. We can’t bring in off-spec products,” Dickerman affirmed, adding that the refinery’s statements were “defamatory, inaccurate, and intentionally misleading.”
READ ALSO: Marketers oppose Dangote’s call for petrol Import ban
He also disclosed that Pinnacle signed a 13-year agreement with Dangote Refinery to distribute its petroleum products via pipelines, an initiative supported and approved by Dangote.
“Pipeline transfer is a more cost-effective distribution method compared to trucks or shipping. When this project was proposed to Dangote, they agreed and even facilitated regulatory approvals,” Dickerman said.
An unnamed source within SON confirmed the agency’s involvement in testing imported fuel.
“We operate our own laboratory to ensure that products meet regulatory standards and are not off-spec. We test every shipment of petrol brought into Nigeria,” the official stated.
A major oil marketer also contested the claims from Dangote Refinery. “The NMDPRA conducts multiple tests at different stages.
Samples are taken from our imported cargo when it arrives in the mother vessel at Atlas Cove, again at the discharge point, and even before loading from our tanks. There is no room for off-spec products,” he emphasized.
In a further rebuttal to Dangote Refinery’s allegations, Dickerman clarified that Pinnacle never approached Dangote to blend substandard imports.
“The project to interconnect pipelines was mutually agreed upon in 2022 and signed in early 2023. It involved thorough legal and commercial agreements,” he explained.
He added that substantial progress had already been made, including engineering designs, surveying, and securing rights of way.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) stepped in to address a viral video alleging that it was dispensing dirty fuel from one of its retail outlets at Keffi Flyover.
In a statement, NNPC’s spokesperson, Olufemi Soneye, debunked the claims as baseless. “We conducted spot checks and found the allegations false.
NNPC adheres to rigorous quality control standards to ensure only high-quality and reliable petroleum products are available at our outlets,” Soneye declared.
NNPC urged Nigerians to disregard such narratives, describing them as the work of unpatriotic elements out to cause unnecessary panic.
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