The Dangote Petroleum Refinery has raised the alarm, saying a new depot hired by an unnamed international trading company to blend substandard petroleum products in Nigeria is now in its neighbourhood.
Remember that Dangote had earlier accused some players in the oil industry of having blending plants in Malta with which Nigerian market is flooded with substandard fuel.
Marketers also have issues with the refinery over its fuel price allegedly on the high side compared to its imported counterparts.
Now, Dangote said a depot located adjacent to its operations, has been leased with the view to blend substandard products that would be dumped into the market and bought by unsuspecting Nigerians.
The claim was made by the Group Chief Branding and Communications Officer of Dangote Group, Anthony Chiejina, at a press statement on Sunday in response to statements credited to the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, and other associations that the price of imported fuel is cheaper than what is being sold by the Dangote refinery.
Speaking, “We had lately refrained from engaging in media fights but we are constrained to respond to the recent misinformation being circulated by IPMAN, PETROAN, and other associations.
“Both organisations claim that they can import PMS at lower prices than what is being sold by the Dangote refinery. We benchmark our prices against international prices and we believe our prices are competitive relative to the price of imports.
“If anyone claims they can land PMS at a price cheaper than what we are selling, then they are importing substandard products and conniving with international traders to dump low-quality products into the country, without concern for the health of Nigerians or the longevity of their vehicles.
“At the same time, an international trading company has recently hired a depot facility next to the Dangote Refinery, with the objective of using it to blend substandard products that will be dumped into the market to compete with Dangote refinery’s higher quality production.
“This is detrimental to the growth of domestic refining in Nigeria.”
