Wahala and confusion. Farouk Armed’s statement is just a synopsis and could not have said everything. Now, it has given room for everybody to fill in the gap and read all kinds of meanings.
Armchair analysts on both sides of the divide have taken up the fight on behalf of Dangote Refinery and the Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Products Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to say what they know and what they don’t understand.
But be that as it may be, yes, the Dangote Refinery is not yet complete. They do not have the operation license yet. It has fulfilled mechanical completion 100%, but the commissioning is only 45% complete. That is the process, and nothing is wrong with it. You have to complete it mechanically before you go into commissioning. The regulator will certify the mechanical completion and give you the go-ahead to go into the next phase, commissioning. It’s only after that, that you get the operation license.
The commissioning of a refinery starts with the heavier products hence the diesel and kerosene. The 45% commissioning obviously does not include the processes to produce petrol and the system to reduce the sulfur content in the streams to below 50 ppm.
Undoubtedly when the Dangote Refinery(DR) is 100% commissioned, they will have petrol and all products, petrol, diesel and kerosene streams will have less than 50ppm sulfur like the imported products from foreign refineries.
Note also that 650 to 1200 ppm sulfur in diesel is not illegal in any way. You can say ‘inferior’ but not illegal. The older generation refineries normally don’t achieve it except they are retrofitted. No refinery in Nigeria has ever achieved the 50ppm. Government or private.
It is Dangote’s problem how he gets his crude. I’m sure he knows that but the public seems to want to solve it for him. The market forces will also determine if the marketers will buy from him or continue to import. He can also export his own. If he sells lower than the landing cost, it’s no brainer, the local buyers will patronize him. I don’t understand all the noise around this on the social media