Dangote accuses IOCs of planning to frustrate refinery

DANGOTE Group has lamented the activity of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), in granting licences indiscriminately to marketers to import dirty refined products into the country.

Speaking to a group of journalists at a one-day training programme organised by company, the Vice President, Oil and Gas at Dangote Industries Limited, Devakumar Edwin, called on the Federal Government and regulators to give Dangote Group the necessary support in order to create jobs and prosperity for the nation.

He said: “The Federal Government issued 25 licences to build refinery and we are the only one that delivered on promise. In effect, we deserve every support from the gov-ernment. It is good to note that from the start of production, more than 3.5 billion litres, which represents 90 percent of our production, have been exported. We are calling on the Federal Government and regulators to give us the necessary support in order to create jobs and prosperity for the nation.” Edwin said that the decision of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) in granting licenses indiscriminately for the importation of dirty diesel and aviation fuel has made the Dangote refinery to expand into foreign markets.

“The refinery has recently exported diesel and aviation fuel to Europe and other parts of the world. The same industry players fought us for crashing the price of diesel and aviation fuel, but our aim, as I have said earlier, is to grow our econ-omy,” he said

He also accused International Oil Companies (1OCs) in Nigeria of doing everything to frustrate the survival of Dangote Oil Refinery and Petrochemicals.

Edwin said the IOCs were deliberately and wilfully frustrating the refinery’s efforts to buy local crude by jerking up high premium price above the market price, thereby forcing it to import crude from countries as far as United States, with its attendant high costs.

“While the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) is trying their best to allocate the crude for us, the lOCs are deliberately and willfully frustrating our efforts to buy the local crude. It would be recalled that the 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 that the lOCs’ 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 that the objective of the lOCs is to ensure that 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 Nige-ria, his the sage state end mutinies hade tsen

adopting in every commodity, making Nigeria and Sub-Sa-Haran 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 the Nigerians who are exposed to carcinogenic products,” Edwin said.

ALSO READ: Aiye-ko-ooto’s ‘The Noble Warrior’ celebrates Soyinka