The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) has named MRS, Oando, Duke Oil and Emadeb as the importers of the adulterated fuel currently in circulation in the country.
The Chief Executive Officer/Group Managing Director, NNPC Ltd, Mallam Mele Kyari, said in a statement on Thursday that the company received a report from its quality inspector on the presence of emulsion particles in Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) cargoes shipped by four companies to Nigeria from Antwerp-Belgium.
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It said an investigation revealed the presence of Methanol in the cargoes imported by the Direct-Sale-Direct-Purchase suppliers, which were all lifted from LITASCO Terminal in Antwerp-Belgium.
NNPC further blamed its inspectors for failing to test imported petrol for presence of methanol. It said while its inspectors tested and certified all the imported cargoes of the PMS, the test did not include percent level testing for methanol.
Kyari stated that the PMS cargo imports were tested and certified both in Belgium where they came from and by an inspection agent appointed by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) on arrival.
He said, “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.
“The cargoes quality certificates issued at loadport (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.”
The NNPC boss further stated that to prevent the distribution of the petrol, the company ordered the quarantine of all un-evacuated volumes and the holding back of all the affected products in transit (both truck & marine).
According to him, remedial actions will be taken on the defaulting importers, as the NNPC has the capacity to restore sanity in the supply and distribution of petrol shortly.
“NNPC is working with the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to take necessary actions in line with subsisting regulations,” the statement added.
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