- Says regulator, NMDPRA granting licences for importation of dirty diesel, jet fuel
By Abiola Olawale
The Dangote Industries Limited has accused International Oil Companies (IOCs) of trying to sabotage the operations of the Dangote Oil Refinery and Petrochemicals.
The Vice President of Oil and Gas, at Dangote Industries Limited, Devakumar Edwin, who raised an alarm on alleged inappropriate actions by IOCs accused them of deliberately and wilfully frustrating Dangote refinery’s efforts to buy local crude by jerking up prices above the market price.
Edwin who made this disclosure to a group of Energy Editors at a one-day training programme organised by the Dangote Group, said the action of the IOCs to inflate prices of local crude has compelled Dangote Refinery to import crude from distant countries like the United States, leading to significantly higher costs.
Edwin also accused the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), of granting licences indiscriminately to marketers to import dirty refined products into the country.
He said: “The Federal Government issued 25 licences to build refineries and we are the only one that delivered on promise. In effect, we deserve every support from the government. It is good to note that from the start of production, more than 3.5 billion litres, which represents 90 per cent of our production, have been exported.
‘’We are calling on the Federal Government and regulators to give us the necessary support to create jobs and prosperity for the nation.
“While the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, NUPRC, is trying its best to allocate the crude for us, the IOCs are deliberately and willfully frustrating our efforts to buy the local crude.
‘’It will be recalled that NUPRC, recently met with crude oil producers as well as refineries owners in Nigeria in a bid to ensure full adherence to Domestic Crude Oil Supply Obligations, DCSO, as enunciated under section 109(2) of the Petroleum Industry Act, PIA.
“It seems the IOCs’ objective is to ensure that our Petroleum Refinery fails. It is either they are deliberately asking for ridiculous/humongous premium or, they simply state that crude is not available.
‘’At some point, we paid $6 over and above the market price. This has forced us to reduce our output as well as import crude from countries as far as the US, increasing our cost of production…
“It appears the objective of the IOCs is to ensure Nigeria remains a country which exports crude oil and imports refined petroleum products. They (IOCs) are keen on exporting the raw materials to their home countries, creating employment and wealth for their countries, adding to their GDP, and dumping the expensive refined products into Nigeria, thus making them dependent on imported products.
‘’It is the same strategy the multinationals have been adopting in every commodity, making Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa to be facing unemployment and poverty, while they create wealth for themselves at our expense.
‘’This is exploitation – pure and simple. Unfortunately, the country is also playing into their hands by continuing to issue import licences at the expense of our economy and at the cost of the health of Nigerians who are exposed to carcinogenic products.”
The New Diplomat reports that the accusations are coming against the background of calls for strict observance of the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
According to the PIA, international oil companies are expected to meet local demands by supplying crude oil to refineries in the country before exporting.
NUPRC said it will serve as a middleman between local refiners and producers when agreements on crude supply cannot be finalized, helping to arrange a sales purchase agreement based on a willing-buyer, willing-seller model.
It would be recalled that Africa’s richest man and Chief Executive Officer of the Dangote Refinery, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, had revealed how some powerful people in the oil business industry tried to sabotage the construction of the 650,000 barrels Refinery located in Lagos state.
