‘My refinery produces the best diesel in Nigeria’, Dangote replies FG

Alhaji Aliko Dangote, President of Dangote Group, has asserted that products refined at Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals are of superior quality compared to imported equivalents and meet international standards.

Mr Anthony Chiejina, Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Dangote Group, quoted Dangote in a statement on Sunday in Lagos.

He said Dangote disclosed this during a tour of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Dangote Fertiliser Ltd. complex by members of the House of Representatives.

He said the tour included the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Tajudeen Abbas, and other members who observed the testing of Automotive Gas Oil (diesel) from two petrol stations alongside Dangote Petroleum Refinery.

Chiejina said that Dangote expressed his confidence after the House leadership insisted on testing other diesel products, alongside Dangote’s diesel at its state-of-the-art laboratory.

He said that the diesel samples were procured from two well-known filling stations near Eleko junction along the Lekki Epe Expressway, by the members.

According to him, the Chairman of the House Committee on Downstream, Mr Ikeagwunon Ugochinyere, and the Chairman of the House Committee on Midstream, Mr Okojie Odianosen, monitored the collection of samples from the Mild Hydro Cracking (MHC) unit of Dangote refinery for testing of all the samples.

“Lab tests revealed that Dangote’s diesel had a sulphur content of 87.6 ppm (parts per million), whereas the other two samples showed sulphur levels exceeding 1800 ppm and 2000 ppm respectively,” he said.

Dangote emphasised that these findings debunked claims made by Farouk Ahmed, Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Authority, who recently said that imported diesel surpasses domestically refined products.

Ahmed had alleged that Dangote refinery and other modular refineries like Waltersmith and Aradel produced diesel with sulphur content ranging from 650 to 1200 ppm—a statement criticised by many Nigerians as a tactic to favour imported products over local ones.

Dangote openly challenged the regulator to compare the quality of refined products from his refinery with those imported, advocating an impartial assessment to determine what best serves the interests of Nigerians.

“We produce the best diesel in Nigeria. It’s disheartening that instead of safeguarding the market, the regulator is undermining it.

“Our doors are open for the regulator to conduct tests on our products anytime; transparency is paramount to us.

“It would be beneficial for the regulator to showcase its laboratory to the world so Nigerians can compare. Our interest is Nigeria first because if Nigeria doesn’t grow, we have limited capacity for growth.

“Right Honourable Speaker and esteemed members, you’ve witnessed the results of the credibility test.

“I appreciate your wise counsel in procuring samples from the filling stations alongside our refinery’s product.

“Ours show a sulphur content of 87.6 ppm, approximately 88, whereas the others exceeded 1,800 ppm.

“Although the NMDPRA permits local refiners to produce diesel with sulphur content up to 650 ppm until January 2025, as approved by ECOWAS, ours is significantly lower.

“We aim to achieve 10 ppm, aligning with the Euro V standard. Imported diesel is capped at 50 ppm, but as you’ve seen, those from the stations, imported by major marketers, fall well outside this standard.”