On Thursday, a statement was issued in response to allegations made by the Dangote Petroleum Refinery concerning the importation of substandard petroleum products by specific dealers.
On Tuesday, the refinery notified Pinnacle Oil and Gas Limited and other marketers that the deregulation of the downstream oil sector should not be used as a justification for importing substandard products or jeopardizing Nigeria's national interests.
In a rebuttal on Thursday, oil marketers, including Robert Dickerman, Managing Director/CEO of Pinnacle Oil and Gas Limited, emphasized that his company has entered into a 13-year agreement with the Dangote refinery to distribute its petroleum products via pipelines.
Dickerman highlighted that independent inspectors, including NMDPRA and SON, oversee the quality of their products, ensuring that off-spec items are not imported into the country.
This assertion was corroborated by SON, with a reliable source from the agency confirming that SON is actively involved in testing imported petroleum products. The official noted that the organization has its own laboratory facilities to verify the specifications of these commodities.
“Yes, We are involved in the testing of petroleum products when they come into the country. We are involved in that. We have our laboratory facility where these tests are conducted. It’s to ensure if the commodities meet regulatory standards or off-spec,” the official said.
A prominent marketer vehemently refuted the assertion that dealers import substandard products into the nation, particularly in light of the Federal Government’s deregulation of the downstream oil sector.
“I once told you what we went through when we brought in our imported cargo of petrol. The product underwent a lot of laboratory tests. I know the NMDPRA carries out tests on imported products. They took a sample of our recent import when it was still in the mother vessel at Atlas Cove before it was moved to Apapa.
“At the point of discharge, they took the sample again before allowing us to put it in our tanks. The NMDPRA has certified laboratories that they use. We have our laboratory but the NMDPRA will not allow you to do your test without them certifying the product by themselves.
“The testing is in three stages, the one in Atlas Cove when the vessel lands in Nigeria. When the product moves to your point of discharge they will do another test before they allow it into your tanks and aside from that, the day you want to start loading they will carry another test,” the marketer, who spoke in confidence due to lack of authorisation to speak on the matter, stated.
During a press conference in Lagos on Thursday, Dickerman emphasized the need for clarification to refute claims made by the Dangote refinery, which accused Pinnacle of intending to mix substandard petrol in Nigeria.
The Dangote refinery alleged that the managing director of Pinnacle had approached them, requesting the extension of pipelines to their tank farms for the purpose of blending inferior imported petroleum products with their 'high-quality' offerings. In response, Dickerman labeled the statement as defamatory, incorrect, and deliberately misleading.
He stated that Pinnacle had proposed and invested in pipelines for the distribution of petroleum products from the Dangote Refinery, highlighting that pipeline transfer is significantly more economical than shipping or trucking across the nation.
He noted that when the project was initially proposed to Dangote, they fully supported it and entered into a 13-year interconnection agreement with Pinnacle Oil.
“On November 5, Dangote issued a Press Release titled, ’Pinnacle Oil and Gas FZE: Our Stand’. It is unfortunate and deeply concerning that this release contained several statements that are defamatory, inaccurate and intentionally misleading. Further, it advocated a national policy that would cause severe economic damage to Nigerians by raising the cost of petrol above global market prices and higher than they are today.
“In our effort to further enhance distribution efficiency, we proposed and invested in pipelines to distribute petroleum products from the Dangote Refinery, as pipeline transfer is far less costly than distribution by ship or trucking across the country. When we proposed this project to Dangote, they wholeheartedly agreed and signed a 13-year interconnection agreement with us.
“In addition, Dangote facilitated our process of achieving regulatory approval by writing two Letters of No Objection to the regulator to enable our project to proceed. The agreement to allow us to interconnect our pipeline to them was agreed actually in 2022 and I think it was signed in early 2023. So it was about two years ago that we actually reached this agreement, and it was done very comprehensively, from a commercial and a legal standpoint,” Dickerman stated.
He explained that the project had undergone numerous processes since its signing, including the engineering design for the pipelines, surveying, securing the right of way, and obtaining letters of no objection from potentially affected parties.
“There’s a whole bunch of stages to a project. This is not unlike any other construction project. It’s a very simple and straightforward process. This was done first. There was never a hint that this was not a good deal for both parties ever. So, it’s just not true that they opposed it. It’s simply not true that they opposed it. They supported it,“ the Pinnacle boss stated.
However, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has refuted a video clip alleging that the oil company was distributing contaminated fuel from an NNPC Retail outlet located at Keffi Flyover.
“We have carried out spot checks at all our outlets and found this claim to be false. The product was not, and could not have been bought from any NNPC Retail outlet as the company does not dispense petroleum products into bottles or jerrycans as displayed in the video,” it said in a statement issued by its spokesperson, Olufemi Soneye.
It added, “NNPC Retail Ltd does not deal in adulterated products as it adheres to rigorous standards and quality control measures at every stage in its operations to ensure that only high quality, safe, and reliable petroleum products are available at its stations nationwide.
“Members of the public should discountenance the spurious claims made in the video and be wary of selfish and unpatriotic elements pushing such a narrative as they do not mean well for the country.”