…Promises Remedial Action on Defaulting Importers
…MRS denies responsibility for importation of product causing ripples
Olusola Bello
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has reassured Nigerians of its capacity to restore sanity in the supply and distribution of quality Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) also known as petrol across the country within a short period.
It however listed four companies that brought into the country fuel that is blended with methanol.
The companies are MRS which brought it in with a vessel named MT Bow Pioneer, with LITASCO Terminal, Antwerp-Belgium as its load port, Emadeb/Hyde/AY Maikifi/Brittania-U Consortium, the consortium came with MT Tom Hilde which loaded at LITASCO Terminal, Antwerp-Belgium, Oando, MT Elka Apollon also from LITASCO Terminal, Antwerp-Belgium and the fourth one, Duke Oil, a subsidiary of NNPC brought in MT Nord Gainer and from LITASCO Terminal, Antwerp-Belgium.
According to a statement signed by Garba Deen Muhammed, Group General Manager,
Group Public Affairs Division, Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd, the Chief Executive Officer/ Group Managing Director of NNPC, Mele Kyari made the pledge at the end of a meeting with some oil marketers to resolve the issues generated by the recent supply and discharge of methanol blended petrol in some Nigerian depots.
Kyari emphasized that all defaulting suppliers have been put on notice for remedial actions and NNPC is working with the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Regulatory Authority (NMDRA) to take further necessary actions in line with subsisting regulations.
Providing a graphic chronicle of the unfortunate incident, the NNPC CEO said that on 20th January 2022, the company received a report from its quality inspector on the presence of emulsion particles in PMS cargoes shipped to Nigeria from Antwerp-Belgium.
He explained that the NNPC investigation revealed the presence of Methanol in four PMS cargoes imported by the following Direct-Sale-Direct-Purchase (DSDP) suppliers as listed in the table below.
Importer Vessel Name Load Port
1 MRS — MT Bow Pioneer — LITASCO Terminal, Antwerp-Belgium
2 Emadeb/Hyde/AY Maikifi/Brittania-U Consortium —- MT Tom Hilde —- LITASCO Terminal, Antwerp-Belgium
3 Oando — MT Elka Apollon — LITASCO Terminal, Antwerp-Belgium
4 Duke Oil —– MT Nord Gainer —-LITASCO Terminal, Antwerp-Belgium
‘He noted that cargoes quality certificates issued at load port (Antwerp-Belgium) by AmSpec Belgium indicated that the gasoline complied with Nigerian Specification.
“The NNPC quality inspectors including GMO, SGS, GeoChem and G&G conducted tests before discharge also showed that the gasoline met Nigerian specification,’’ he said.
Kyari noted that as a standard practice for all PMS import to Nigeria, the said cargoes were equally certified by inspection agent appointed by the NMDRA.
“It is important to note that the usual quality inspection protocol employed in both the load port in Belgium and our discharge ports in Nigeria do not include the test for Percent methanol content and therefore the additive was not detected by our quality inspectors’’ he stated . .
However, in order to prevent the distribution of the petrol, the NNPC CEO said the company promptly ordered the quarantine of all un-evacuated volumes and the holding back of all the affected products in transit (both truck & marine).
Meanwhile, MRS has denied that it was the one that imported the product.
It stated: “We want to reassure the public and all relevant authorities, that “MRS” is a responsible corporate citizen and will not be involved in the purchase, importation, distribution or marketing of substandard petroleum products in Nigeria. It is therefore necessary that any Media, reporting this false information which has resulted in the defamation of the Company’s brand and image, must immediately refrain from doing so and endeavor to check the facts before printing unauthenticated information and statements, which would affect the goodwill of the Company and the investing public.”
“For this reason, the Management of MRS writes to inform the public of the facts which has resulted in product scarcity in the country: Due to current subsidy regime, NNPC is the sole supplier of all PMS in Nigeria.”
