NMDPRA accuses indigenous producers of sub-standard petroleum products

The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has accused indigenous oil producers in the country of producing sub-standard petroleum products.

Speaking with journalists, Chief Executive of the NMDPRA, Farouk Ahmed disclosed that in terms of quality, Dangote’s current AGO (diesel) suffers from the lowest quality in terms of sulfur content, falling short of West Africa’s requirement of 50 parts per million (PPM).

“Dangote Refinery, as well as some modular refineries like Watersmith refinery and Aradel refinery are producing between 650 to one 1,200 PPM. Therefore, in terms of quality, their products are inferior to imported ones,” he said.

Ahmed also discarded claims by some media outlets that they were trying to scuttle the Dangote Refinery.

“That is not so. Dangote Refinery is still in the pre-commissioning stage. It has not been licensed yet. We haven’t licensed them yet. I think they are about 45% to completion,” he said

“We cannot rely on one refinery to feed the nation because Dangote is requesting that we suspend or stop imports, especially of AGO and DPK, and direct all marketers to his refinery.

“That is not good for the nation in terms of energy security, and it is not good for the market because of the monopoly,” he said.