Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, has refuted allegations from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) that his refinery's diesel is substandard.
During a visit by lawmakers to the Lagos facility on Saturday, Dangote addressed these claims directly.
Farouk Ahmed, CEO of NMDPRA, had earlier accused local refineries, including Dangote's, of producing diesel with quality levels between 650 and 1,200 parts per million (PPM), far worse than imported alternatives.
However, tests conducted during the lawmakers' visit showed that Dangote's diesel measured at 87.6 PPM, well within ECOWAS regulations, which allow up to 200 PPM for locally produced diesel until December 2024.
Dangote challenged the regulator to test his refinery's diesel at any time, asserting it would fall below 10 PPM.
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, and his deputy, Benjamin Kalu, led the delegation and observed the refinery’s automated control room and hydrocracking unit.
Abbas expressed surprise at the conflicting statements from NMDPRA, given its previous certification of the refinery.
He emphasized the need to investigate these contradictions. In response, Dangote suggested independent testing of diesel samples from various filling stations to ensure transparency.
Despite setbacks, the Dangote refinery, the largest in Africa, aims to produce 550,000 barrels per day (bpd) this year.
However, it has only received five crude cargoes from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), prompting Dangote to source crude from Brazil and the U.S.
The $20 billion refinery, which began operations in January, is poised to enhance Nigeria's refining capacity and reduce its reliance on imported petroleum products.
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