Dangote Refinery Refutes Inferior Quality Claims, Highlights Superior Sulphur Content

In a firm rebuttal against recent allegations, Aliko Dangote, CEO of Dangote Group, has defended the quality of diesel produced at his Lagos refinery. Contrary to claims by Farouk Ahmed, head of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Dangote asserts that the sulphur content in his refinery’s diesel is significantly lower than that found in imported equivalents.

Mr. Dangote, during a tour of his oil plant with Speaker Tajudeen Abbas and Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu on Saturday, presented lab test results to counter the allegations. Diesel samples purchased by the lawmakers from two filling stations on Eleko road along the Lekki-Epe Expressway were compared with those from Dangote Refinery. The results showed a sulphur content of 87.6 ppm (parts per million) in Dangote’s diesel, while the samples from the filling stations exhibited sulphur levels exceeding 1800 ppm and 2000 ppm.

“I appreciate your wise counsel in procuring samples from the filling stations alongside our refinery’s product. Ours shows a sulphur content of 87.6 ppm, approximately 88, whereas the others exceeded 1,800 ppm,” said Mr. Dangote. He emphasized that his refinery aims to meet European emission standards, targeting a sulphur content of 10 ppm by next week, aligning with the Euro V standard.

The NMDPRA currently permits local refiners to produce diesel with a sulphur content up to 650 ppm until January 2025, as approved by ECOWAS. Despite this, Mr. Dangote highlighted that his refinery’s diesel far exceeds these standards, and he plans to improve the quality even further. “Next week, we aim to achieve 10 ppm, aligning with the Euro V standard. Imported diesel is capped at 50 ppm, but as you’ve seen, those from the stations, imported by major marketers, fall well outside this standard,” he noted.

Mr. Dangote dismissed the NMDPRA boss’s assertion that his refinery produced diesel with a sulphur content ranging from 650 to 1200 ppm. He firmly stated, “The lab results rubbished the NMDPRA boss’ claims that his refinery produced 650 to 1200 ppm and insisted that his refinery produces the best diesel in Nigeria.”

He criticized the regulatory body for undermining rather than protecting the industry, calling the demarketing of a company by a regulator "very very unfortunate." Mr. Dangote invited regulators to conduct independent tests at any time, demonstrating transparency and confidence in his refinery’s processes.

The billionaire further urged the media to scrutinize the NMDPRA’s laboratory facilities, suggesting that the regulator’s capacity to conduct accurate quality tests might be lacking. “I would like the media to show our lab, and I want them to also show the lab of the regulator himself. He (Mr. Ahmed) should show us which lab he is using because, as a regulator, he is supposed to have a lab. If the regulator doesn’t have a lab, then we have an issue,” Mr. Dangote said.