Long queues that recently resurfaced at many petroleum stations in the country have been attributed to a batch of adulterated and contaminated petrol supplied by Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to marketers in the country.
The country had, in the last two days, witnessed fuel scarcity in major cities such as Abuja and Lagos, triggered by suspension of operations at many fueling stations that had shared from the contaminated petrol supply.
Business Metrics gathered that a total of 51.33 million litres of petrol supplied recently by the NNPC to five oil marketers was tested positive for illegal substances.
Recall that due to the current subsidy regime, NNPC is the sole supplier of all PMS in Nigeria.
The Corporation had supplied a total of 36,958 metrics tons (mt) or 51.33 million litres of the contaminated petrol to five marketers, namely, OVH (10,000 mt), MRS (5,000 mt), NIPCO (5,958 mt), ARDOVA (6,000 mt) and TOTAL (10,000 mt).
It was learnt that the NNPC through its trading arm Duke Oil, supplied a cargo of the PMS purchased from international trader Litasco and delivered it with Motor Tanker (MT) Nord Gainer to the marketers’ depot.
Following a video online showing the adulterated and contaminated petrol being sold into a transparent 2-litre container, many media outlet have speculated that the petrol station whose name is not visible in the video, belonged to MRS.
Responding to such reports, Mr. Marco Storari, Managing Director said in a note made available to this Newspaper on Wednesday that as one of the beneficiaries of the off-spec petrol supply, MRS received the product in its depot and distributed the product to only eight of its stations in Lagos.
Following delivery into tank, he said it was observed that the product appeared hazy and dark while the management of the company immediately directed that further sales be stopped and the product isolated.
“Urgent steps were taken to analyze the product to determine the basis for its contamination,” he said.
Examination reveals illegal substance
According to Storari, the product analysis conducted by MRS revealed that the PMS discharged by MT Nord Ganier had 20 per cent methanol, which is an illegal substance in Nigeria.
“As a Company, we are aware that alcohol or ethanol is not permitted to be mixed in PMS specification. We immediately informed NNPC, Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN)and it was confirmed that other Members had similar experiences.”
NMDPRA attests to contamination
Meanwhile, NMDPRA attested that the petrol with methanol quantities above Nigeria’s specification was discovered in the supply chain.
NMDPRA said this in a statement issued on Tuesday confirming concerns by Nigerians and other stakeholders over the importation of crude above Nigeria’s grade to the market.
“Methanol is a regular additive in petrol and is usually blended in an acceptable quantity,” the statement reads.
The regulator added that the limited quantity of the impacted product had been isolated and withdrawn from the market, including the loaded trucks in transit to ensure vehicular and equipment safety.
In contrary to this withdrawal claim however, MRS said on Wednesday morning that it still had a total of 350,000 litres in its tanks at the eight stations.
“We await approval from NNPC and NMDPRA for the return of the product. The 8 stations have been isolated, but there are other tanks within the stations, which will receive uncontaminated product for sale as soon as possible,” said Storari.
Buhari wants culprits investigated, punished
As the matter becomes a national concern, President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered the query of Farouk Ahmed, chief executive officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), over the circulation of off-spec petrol products.
According to report, a presidency source disclosed that Buhari felt that the agency — which by law acts as the “police” of the downstream and midstream sector — should be the starting point for unfolding the importation and subsequent circulation of the product.
The source told Thisday that the response of the agency would determine which other government agency or private individuals would be sanctioned.
“The reason the midstream/downstream authority is being queried first is that for now, the bulk stops at its desk. They are the first port of call. Ordinarily, they are expected to know how it came into the country,” the presidency source added.
“This is because they are the police of the industry. How did it get past them into circulation? It is their job to know. They are the police who should stop bad fuel from coming into the country.
“So, the NNPC has not been queried for now. The question now is who certified the product clean enough to come into the country?
“When the investigation is done, then the federal government will know where the blame lies, but for now, the NNPC is just a company and doesn’t necessarily owe allegiance to government as it were, because it’s now just like every other company with a profit motive.”
