THE Management of Dangote Industries Limited has condemned an online report doubting the quality of its diesel.
The Dangote Group described the allegation as false, baseless, and mischievous, stressing that its refinery is designed to produce the highest quality petroleum products that meet very stringent international specifications. In a statement obtained by Vanguard, the spokesperson of the company, Mr. Anthony Chiejina, stated:
“Publications indicating that we are producing high Sulphur diesel are mischievous and designed to tarnish the image of our reputable organisation.
“The false and misleading allegations made by some media outlets that the Dangote Refinery is producing substandard diesel which is why it reduced the price by 37 per cent, is baseless and mischievous.
“Until late last year, diesel imports into Nigeria were up to 7,000 parts per million (ppm) of Sulphur which has been going on for many years. Our diesel is produced currently at significantly lower levels of Sulphur; as such, we find baseless the allegation that the reason for reduction is linked to quality. What we are producing is 80% better than what is being imported into the country. “Another inaccurate assertion is that Medium Level Sulphur diesel is meant for off-road use. This is a completely false statement as this would have invariably meant that all the imports for the last 20 years have been damaging equipment.”
According to the company, “diesel imports for the high Sulphur grade have been at significantly higher prices until we started operation. If indeed high Sulphur diesel is sold at lower prices how come we never saw the lower prices until now?”
The group’s spokesperson affirmed that the real reason behind the Dangote diesel price reduction was principally due to the patriotism of the management to the nation as well as prevailing market dynamics of supply and demand. “As the largest single-train refinery in the world, the Dangote refinery has a production capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, which is more than enough to meet the domestic demand of Nigeria and export to other countries’ economies.