A report by POLITICS NIGERIA, backed by documents obtained exclusively by the online newspaper, which operates at: https://politicsnigeria.com, has revealed that the Chairman of Dangote Industries Limited, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, lied over the sulphur level in the diesel produced by his Dangote Refineries and Petrochemicals Limited.....CONTINUE READING THE ARTICLE FROM THE SOURCE
In fact, two days after the visit by federal lawmakers to the refinery, the sulphur level was 650 parts per million.
According to the documents obtained by POLITICS NIGERIA, the ppm in the diesel rose to 1200 in some instances.
The Eagle Online recalls that Dangote had in the heat of his confrontation with the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Authority claimed that the ppm in his diesel was sometimes as low as 87 ppm.
This followed the interview granted to State House Correspondents at the Presidential Villa in Abuja by the CEO of NMDPRA, Farouk Ahmed, in which he said that the ppm of the diesel produced by Dangote Refinery was between 650 and 1200.
Sulphur is a natural element in crude oil that is removed during refining because a high amount damages engines and causes environmental pollution.
The United States of America Environmental Protection Agency has pegged the sulphur content in diesel in the country to 15 ppm, while the European Union insists on a maximum of 50 ppm.
Speaking after a visit of some members of the House of Representatives, led by their Speaker, Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, to the refinery in the Ibeju-Lekki area of Lagos State on July 20, 2024, Dangote told the lawmakers: “Lab tests revealed that Dangote’s diesel had a sulphur content of 87.6 ppm, whereas the other two samples showed sulphur levels exceeding 1800 ppm and 2000 ppm respectively.
“In terms of quality, when we started, our quality was about 600 to 650 ppm.
“The ppm was one of the best in terms of quality at the time we started.
“But as of today, we are at 87 ppm.
“And you can take a sample on Monday.
“By Monday, we will be less than 50 ppm.
“By the beginning of August, we will be at 10 ppm.”
However, two days after the visit of the lawmakers to the refinery, according to the documents obtained by POLITICS NIGERIA, the diesel supplied by Dangote Refinery to AA Rano’s depot in Ijegun, Lagos State contained 950 ppm of sulphur.
The certificate of quality, dated July 21, 2024, was authorised by an independent laboratory, Intertek, in line with the regulation of the NMDPRA.
According to the documents, diesel supplied to retailers by Dangote Refinery between April and July 2024 revealed that the sulphur content in Dangote diesel went up to as high as 1200 ppm.
The fuel, delivered in 32 batches, was supplied to different depots of Rain Oil, AA Rano, TMDK Oil, Kashton, NIPCO, Sobaz, and others.
Between April and July 2024, the amount of sulphur found in Dangote diesel averaged 937 ppm, with the lowest of 705 ppm in April and the highest of 1200 ppm in a supply to NIPCO on June 16, 2024 and AA Rano on July 22, 2024.
The documents obtained by POLITICS NIGERIA showed that the same shipment sent to AA Rano on July 22, 2024 was first tested by Dangote’s quality control department on July 13, 2024 and was confirmed to contain 1095 ppm of sulphur.
The certificate of analysis was authorised by Nikunj Parikh, a Senior Chemist at Dangote, and witnessed by an independent lab chemist, Solomon Efe.
