The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has said that the Nigerian government was yet to license the Dangote refinery to begin operations in the country.
Farouk Ahmed, the chief executive officer (CEO) of NMDPRA, disclosed this while speaking with Journalists at the state House on Thursday.
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According to Ahmed, the claims of ongoing efforts to scuttle the operations of Dangote refinery due to lack of supply of crude oil by International Oil Companies were not true, adding that the refinery was still at the pre-commissioning stage and has not been licensed yet.
He said, “there are lots of concerns about the supply of petroleum products nationwide and the claims by some media houses that we were trying to scuttle Dangote refinery; that is not so.
“Dangote refinery is still in the pre-commissioning stage. It has not been licensed yet. We have not licensed them yet.
“I think they are at about 45 percent completion. So we can not 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 automotive gas oil (AGO) or jet kero and direct all marketers to the refinery.”
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Ahmed maintained that the request would promote monopoly in the market and was not good for the nation in terms of energy security. “So, in terms of quality, currently, the AGO quality in terms of sulfur in the lowest as far as a West African requirement of 50 ppm.
“Dangote Refinery, as well as some major refineries, like Walter Smith’s refinery, other refineries, they produce 650 to 1,200 ppm. So, in terms of quality, their quality is much, much inferior to the imported commodities,” he added.
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Devakumar Edwin, vice-president at Dangote Industries Limited had recently stated that IOCs were making it difficult to access local crude, often forcing them to use expensive middlemen and pay inflated prices.
Edwin claims that while only one local producer, Sapetro, sells directly to DIL, others rely on non-Nigerian trading arms that add unnecessary costs. He noted that IOCs have consistently hindered the company’s access to local crude, often offering it at a premium of $2-$4 per barrel above the official price set by NUPRC.
