The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has clarified that the 650,000 barrels per day Dangote refinery is still at the pre-commissioning stage and has not yet been licensed.
NMDPRA Chief Executive, Farouk Ahmed, disclosed this information while addressing state house correspondents on Thursday.
Responding to allegations that the refinery’s operations were being hindered due to a lack of crude oil supply by International Oil Companies (IOCs), Ahmed dismissed these claims as unfounded.
“Well, just like you rightly asked, there are lots of concerns about the supply of petroleum products nationwide and the claims by some media houses that we were trying to scuttle the Dangote refinery; that is not so,” Ahmed stated.
“Dangote refinery is still in the pre-commissioning stage. It has not been licensed yet. We have not licensed them yet. I think they are at about 45 percent completion. So we cannot rely heavily on one refinery to feed the nation because Dangote is requesting that we should suspend or stop all importation of petroleum products, especially automotive gas oil (AGO) or jet kero and direct all marketers to the refinery.”
Ahmed further explained that relying solely on the Dangote refinery is not advisable for the nation’s energy security or market health, as it could lead to a monopoly.
“So, in terms of quality, currently, the AGO quality in terms of sulphur is the lowest as far as West Africa’s requirement of 50 parts per million (ppm). Dangote refinery, as well as some major refineries like Waltersmith refinery, produce between 650 ppm to 1,200 ppm. So, in terms of quality, their quality is much more inferior to the imported quality,” Ahmed added.
