Dangote Refinery Weighs Sales Restrictions To Petrol Importers Over Quality Concerns

The Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals has said it is considering restricting sales of Petrol to major marketers that continue to import petrol into Nigeria, amid concerns over product quality, market transparency and the integrity of products supplied under the Dangote brand.

The proposed measure, which could take effect as early as this week, subject to further consultations and any last-minute intervention, reflects growing concerns over the continued entry of imported petrol into a market where substantial domestic refining capacity is now available.

These were contained in a statement on Sunday by Dangote Group.

According to the statement, sources familiar with the refinery’s position said the immediate concern relates to the fact that some marketers are blending substandard imported petrol with products purchased from Dangote Refinery before distributing the blended product to the market.

The statement further said that the sources stated that the refinery is concerned that such practices could make it difficult to distinguish between products supplied directly by the refinery and products subsequently blended or handled by third parties.

“It is difficult to understand why we would invest heavily in producing high-quality petroleum products for Nigerians, only for those products to be mixed with imported products of uncertain quality and the resulting product to be associated with the refinery,” a source familiar with the refinery’s position said.

According to the statement, the refinery has also raised concerns about the lack of a standard laboratory by the regulator and quality control infrastructure for imported petroleum products, particularly the capacity to independently verify and certify the specifications of…