The Management of Dangote Industries Limited has denied the online report on the sulphur content of its diesel supplied to the Nigerian market by S&P Global.
The Dangote Group stated that its refinery was built to produce the highest quality petroleum products which comply with very stringent international standards, describing these allegations as unfounded, baseless, and mischievous.
This was disclosed in a statement signed and issued by the Spokesperson of the company, Anthony Chiejina made available to the Press, according to nairametrics.
Chiejina underlined that the “publications indicating that we are producing high sulphur diesel are mischievous and designed to tarnish the image of our reputable organisation.”
Chiejina further said that the allegations made by some media outlets that the Dangote Refinery is producing inferior diesel, which led to a price reduction of 37 %, are unfounded and malicious.
He said “Until late last year, diesel imports into Nigeria were up to 7,000 parts per million (ppm) of sulphur which has been going on for many years. Our diesel is produced currently at significantly lower levels of sulphur; as such, we find baseless the allegation that the reason for the reduction is linked to quality. What we are producing is 80% better than what is being imported into the country.
“Another inaccurate assertion is that medium-level sulphur diesel is meant for off-road use. This is a completely false statement as this would have invariably meant that all the imports for the last 20 years have been damaging equipment.
“Thirdly, diesel imports for the high sulphur grade have been at significantly higher prices until we started operation. If indeed high sulphur diesel is sold at lower prices, how come we never saw the lower prices until now?”
The group’s spokesperson affirmed that the diesel price reduction by the company was due to the patriotism of the management to the nation as well as prevailing market dynamics of supply and demand.
“As the largest single-train refinery in the world, the Dangote refinery has a production capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, which is more than enough to meet the domestic demand of Nigeria and export to other countries’ economies.
“We would like to reiterate that the Dangote Refinery is designed to produce high-quality diesel that meets national and international standards and that the price reduction is a reflection of our efficiency and competitiveness. We are optimistic that by Q2/Q3, our diesel will have 10 ppm of Sulphur.
“We urge the public to disregard the false and malicious allegations made by some media outlets. The Dangote Refinery is committed to delivering the best products and services to the Nigerian people, and to contributing to the development and growth of the Nigerian oil and gas sector,” Chiejina added.
Recall that Bloomberg had reported recently that the Dangote refinery reduced the price of its diesel to the Nigerian market as a result of the high sulphur content of the product.
