The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, has intervened in the tussle between the President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote and the supervising agencies in the oil and gas industry over issues surrounding the Dangote Refinery.
On Monday in Abuja, Lokpobiri met with Dangote and the heads of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).
This followed accusations and counter accusations by Dangote and the agencies over alleged plans to sabotage the refinery by denying it of feed stock for production.
Dangote had alleged that the International Oil Companies (IOCs) in Nigeria were actively trying to undermine the Dangote Oil Refinery and Petrochemicals.
He had claimed that the IOCs were intentionally obstructing the refinery’s efforts towards purchasing local crude by inflating premium prices above market rates, compelling the refinery to import crude from distant countries like the United States, leading to significantly higher costs.
The NMDPRA, on its part, had alleged that the Dangote Refinery was producing inferior products compared to imported ones.
Farouk Ahmed, the head of the NMDPRA, had said that the quality of diesel produced by Dangote was 665 ppm, which he considered inferior.
The exchanges by the parties have elicited public criticisms, with many Nigerians urging the federal government to act in the interest of the nation.
In a statement on Monday night, the Special Adviser on Media and Communication to Lokpobiri, Nneamaka Okafor, said: “The stakeholders expressed their gratitude to the minister for his exemplary leadership and timely intervention in facilitating this crucial dialogue.
“The meeting focused on finding a sustainable and lasting solution to the current impasse affecting the Dangote Refinery, with all parties demonstrating a commitment to collaborative and proactive problem-solving”, he added.
Okafor stated that the minister emphasised the importance of cooperation and synergy among all stakeholders to ensure the success and optimal performance of the oil and gas sector, “which is pivotal for Nigeria’s economic growth and energy security.”
He said the meeting marked a significant step towards resolving the challenges.
Reps to investigate allegations of low grade products
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives’ Joint Committee on Midstream and Downstream investigating the alleged domestic production of sub-standard petroleum products, non-availability of crude oil to domestic refineries and other related matters is carrying out a thorough investigation. It has invited all stakeholders in order to get to the root of the saga.
The chairman of the committee, Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere, disclosed this at the opening of the investigation yesterday.
He recalled that the House, at its plenary on July 9, 2024, adopted a motion on: “Urgent need to carry out a legislative forensic investigation into the challenges affecting the downstream and midstream petroleum sectors in Nigeria and other related matters to find out a lasting solution to all challenges”.
“We are going to take a closer look at the integrity of the testing processes for petroleum products in the country, particularly focusing on the capacity and credibility of all the testing labs of all stakeholders in the downstream midstream value chain, local middlemen and the laboratories they employ”, he said.
The lawmaker further said that the committee was also mandated to investigate the “indiscriminate issuance of licences and importation of refined petroleum products, alleged return of PMS price intervention, allegation of product unavailability to marketers from NNPCL Retail, endless shifting of timelines for refinery rehabilitation and the nefarious activities at petrol depots.”
He said the committee would also conduct “a legislative forensic investigation into the presence of middlemen in crude trading, indiscriminate issuance of licenses, alleged unavailability of international standard laboratories to check adulterated products, influx of contaminated products into the country, the allegation of non-domestication of profits realised from crude marketing sales in local banks, abuse of the PFI regime, importation of products already being produced in Nigeria and use of international trading companies to resell fuel stock to local refineries at high mark up prices.”
Other stakeholders invited include petroleum products refining companies, IPMAN, PETROAN, independent oil producers, international oil companies, importers, marketers, and depot owners.
Rep Ugochinyere further said: “We will visit various filling stations, depots and tank farms to take samples in line with international standards, verify the quality of imported products and assess the testing capacities of all refineries and all refined products handling outfits.”