The Standards Organisation of Nigeria and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority are responsible for certifying imported Premium Motor Spirit, commonly known as petrol, according to oil marketers.
This statement came in response to claims by Dangote Petroleum Refinery that off-spec petroleum products were being imported into the country by dealers.
On Tuesday, the Dangote refinery raised concerns that deregulation of the downstream oil sector should not be a justification for importing substandard products or compromising Nigeria’s national interests.
Oil marketers, however, refuted these claims, as the
Managing Director and CEO of Pinnacle Oil and Gas Limited, Robert Dickerman
revealed that his company had entered into a 13-year agreement with Dangote Refinery to distribute its petroleum products through pipelines.
Dickerman pointed out that independent inspectors, NMDPRA, and SON, among others, “inspect our products, so we can’t bring in off-spec products into this country.”
His statement was backed by thenSON, with an official from the agency confirming that SON is responsible for testing imported petroleum products.
The source explained that SON operates its own laboratory facility to determine whether the products meet the required specifications or are off-spec.
“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 leading oil marketer also rejected the claim that dealers are importing off-spec products into the country, especially following the deregulation of the downstream oil sector by the Federal Government.
The marketer emphasized that the deregulation should not be used as a pretext for such allegations.
“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.
Addressing newsmen in Lagos on Thursday, Dickerman said the clarification became necessary to debunk the statement from the Dangote refinery which accused Pinnacle of plans to blend substandard petrol in Nigeria.
Dangote Refinery had also claimed that the Managing Director of Pinnacle Oil and Gas, Robert Dickerman, approached the refinery, requesting it extend pipelines to his company’s tank farms.
According to the refinery, the purpose of this was to blend substandard imported petroleum products with its own “high-quality” products.
Reacting, Dickerman described the statement as defamatory, inaccurate, and intentionally misleading.
The managing director said it proposed and invested in pipelines to distribute petroleum products from the Dangote Refinery, saying pipeline transfer is far less costly than distribution by ship or trucking across the country.
According to Dickerman, when the project was proposed to Dangote Refinery, the refinery fully supported the idea and subsequently signed 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 several processes had been undertaken since the agreement was signed, including the engineering design for the pipelines, surveying, securing the right of way, and obtaining letters of no objection from individuals or entities that could be impacted by the pipeline.
“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.
