Reps may indict NNPCL, NMDPRA on alleged sabotage of Dangote Refinery

Indications have emerged that the House of Representatives may indict the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) over alleged sabotage of the operations of Dangote Refinery.

The Deputy Spokesman of the House of Representatives, Dr. Philip Agese, in a statement made available to reporters on Saturday, dropped the hint.

Agbese, representing Ado/Ogbadibo/Okpokwu Federal Constituency of Benue State, alleged that NNPCL, working in cahoots with NMDPRA, were bent on discrediting Dangote Refinery to the advantage of International Oil Companies (IOCs).

The lawmaker wondered why a regulator would go all out to frustrate the efforts of his country’s entrepreneurs to give foreigners the oxygen to continue to run their businesses in the country, to retard Nigeria’s indigenisation drive in the oil and gas, as well as other sectors.

The lawmaker claimed that preliminary investigations by the lower legislative chamber have proved, especially the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NMDPRA, Farouk Ahmed, wrong in his concocted allegations that Dangote Refinery products were inferior to the imported quality.

He said, “It is quite unbelievable that the Dangote Refinery, with a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day (bpd), believed to be Africa’s largest refinery, and the world’s 7th largest by capacity and constructed with the intention to alleviate the petroleum products needs and accompanying pains faced by Nigerians, will be brought into public opprobrium by no one else than NMDPRA boss Farouk Ahmed.

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“By the spirit of the Petroleum Industry Act, which created the agency which he superintends over today, he should be the one encouraging local refineries to grow by providing a level playing field for them to operate. But unfortunately, he is the one stifling indigenisation of the sector and watering ground for economic neocolonialism.

“Nigerians, including critical stakeholders such as the parliament, woke up to gibberish spun by Ahmed when he declared that: ‘The Dangote refinery is still in the pre-commissioning stage. It has not been licensed yet. We haven’t licensed them yet. They are still in the pre-commissioning stage. I think they’re about 45 per cent completed, in completion rather.

“So we cannot rely heavily on one refinery to feed the nation, because Dangote is requesting that we should suspend or stop all importation of petroleum products, especially AGO (diesel) and jet fuel, and direct all marketers to the refinery.

“So, in terms of quality, currently…Dangote refinery as well as some major refineries like Waltersmith refinery, produce between 650 ppm to 1,200 ppm. So, in terms of quality, their quality is much inferior to the imported quality.

“That was least expected of him, more so that the Chairman of the House Committee on Downstream, Ikenga Ugochinyere, and Chairman of the House Committee on Midstream, Okojie Odianosen, oversaw the collection of samples from the Mild Hydrocracking (MHC) unit of Dangote refinery for testing of all the samples.

“Lab tests revealed that Dangote’s diesel had a sulphur content of 87.6 ppm (parts per million), whereas the other two samples showed sulphur levels exceeding 1800 ppm and 2000 ppm respectively, disproving his malicious claims.

“It is also surprising that NNPCL too is in this vicious cycle, as it has been revealed that the Federal Government of Nigeria subscribed to 20% shares in Dangote Refinery but has failed to redeem its obligation and now owns 7.2% through NNPCL. As if that is not enough, the NNPCLNNPCL is cohorting with cantankerous elements to deny Dangote crude but selling them to IOCs.”