The debate over the amount of sulfur in the automotive gas oil, or diesel, produced by Nigeria’s Dangote Petroleum Refinery has continued with reports that the $20 billion refinery had recently supplied high-sulfur diesel.

Despite the allegations, oil marketers have maintained that there has been no negative feedback from the direct users of the products.

“We don’t want to be involved in the politics or claims and counter-claims about Dangote diesel, but what I’m going to tell you is that no transporter, motorist, or industrial consumer has complained about the diesel since we started distributing it,” the National President of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Abubakar Maigandi, stated.

A senior Dangote Group official called the recent study on the high sulfur content in Dangote diesel “fake” and claimed it came from people who were determined to damage the refinery.

The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Authority had before been accused of bringing contaminated fuel into Nigeria by Aliko Dangote, the president of the Dangote Group, and a few other company representatives.

Vice President of Oil and Gas of Dangote Industries Limited, Devakumar Edwin, accused the NMDPRA of arbitrarily awarding licenses to marketers to bring filthy refined goods into the nation, even as he accused the foreign oil firms of plots to obstruct the refinery.

Edwin claims that although the Federal Government of Nigeria granted 25 licenses for the construction of refineries, only the Dangote Group fulfilled its commitment.

“The Federal Government issued 25 licences to build refineries and we are the only one that delivered on our promise. In effect, we deserve every support from the government. It is good to note that from the start of production, more than 3.5 billion litres, which represents 90 per cent of our production, have been exported. We are calling on the Federal Government and regulators to give us the necessary support to create jobs and prosperity for the nation,” Edwin had stated.

Even though Dangote was manufacturing and distributing fuel under the rules of the Economic Community of West African States, he said, “licences are being issued, in large quantities, to traders who are buying the extremely high sulphur diesel from Russia and dumping it in the Nigerian market.”

Edwin lamented, “The decision of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority in granting licenses indiscriminately for the importation of dirty diesel and aviation fuel has made the Dangote refinery 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 economy.”