Our diesel 80% better than imported ones

Dangote Industries Limited (DIL) has debunked claims by The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) criticising the quality of its Automotive Gas Oil (AGO), also known as diesel.

The company’s spokesperson, Anthony Chiejina, in a statement on Friday, said Dangote’s refinery diesel is 80 percent better than those currently imported into the country.

Recall that the Chief Executive Officer of NMDPRA, Farouk Ahmed, on Thursday raised concerns about the consistency and standardisation of the refinery’s output, stating that its product quality was inferior to that of imported products.

Farouk said in terms of quality, the current AGO has the lowest quality sulphur content, failing to meet West Africa’s requirement of 50 parts per million (PPM).

However, Chiejina described the statement and report of producing high-sulphur diesel, in his words, as “mischievous aimed at tarnishing our reputation.”

He said that the allegation was false, baseless, and mischievous as the refinery is designed to produce top-quality petroleum products that meet strict international standards.

On diesel price reduction, Chiejina said it was due to the patriotism of the management to the nation as well as prevailing market dynamics of supply and demand.

“Until late last year, diesel imports into Nigeria were up to 7,000 parts per million (PPM) of sulphur which has been going on for many years. Our diesel is produced currently at significantly lower levels of sulphur; as such, we find baseless the allegation that the reason for the reduction is linked to quality. What we are producing is 80 percent of what is being imported into the country.

“Another inaccurate assertion is that Medium Level Sulphur diesel is meant for off-road use. This is a completely false statement as this would have invariably meant that all the imports for the last 20 years have been damaging equipment.

“Thirdly, diesel imports for the high sulphur grade have been at significantly higher prices until we started operation. If indeed high sulphur diesel is sold at lower prices, how come we never saw the lower prices until now?” he said.

By: Waliat Musa