Report Exposes Companies Selling Dirty Fuel in Nigeria After Dangote Raised Alarm
- Research has found that Malta is the source of inferior petroleum products imported by Africa's biggest oil producer
- The upstream and downstream company Matrix Energy has been importing low-grade petroleum products
- This confirms Dangote’s earlier allegations that poor diesel were being imported into the country
Legit.ng journalist Zainab Iwayemi has over 3-year-experience covering the Economy, Technology, and Capital Market.
The largest oil producer in Africa has been importing inferior petroleum products from Malta, a small nation without any known oil refineries, according to documents and in-depth interviews with sources.
Source: Getty Images
BusinessDay gained access to the confidential files, which described a complex scheme including the shipment of inferior petroleum gasoline from Russia to Malta for subsequent blending before shipping to Nigeria.
According to one of the documents that were leaked, Matrix Energy, a business that operates both upstream and downstream, has been bringing in low-grade petroleum products and mixing them with higher-grade fuel before selling them in Nigeria.
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Matrix Energy Group operates in the upstream and downstream sub-sectors of Nigeria’s oil and gas and is managed by Abdulkabir Aliu, the CEO of the company.
Aliu belongs to the exclusive group of well-known Nigerians known as the Presidential Economic Coordination Council (PEEC), which is entrusted with creating long-term solutions to uphold the nation's framework for economic governance and ensure competent and well-coordinated economic planning and execution.
How Matrix ships bad fuel to Nigeria
Additional research revealed that Matrix Energy owns over 600 trucks, three historic ships (Matrix Pride, Matrix Triumph, and Matrix S.ILU), and a 150 million-liter depot in Warri.
According to a senior insider in the shipping industry who spoke with BusinessDay, the company imports a lot of Russian goods through a number of blending facilities.
Shipping tracking information, on May 26, 2024, revealed that matrix ships like the "MT Kallos" loaded off-spec (bad fuel) items from a ship originating in Novorossiysk, Russia.
Additional shipping data revealed that on June 16th, 150000 tons of petroleum products were transloaded onto the ship "Matrix Triumph," which was then discharged on June 21st onto Matrix Jetty in Warri.
Analysts react to findings
Kelvin Emmanuel, energy expert and co-founder and CEO of Dairy Hills, said,
“The scale of this is alarming. First of all, Russia was excommunicated from the swift global banking framework of nearly 12,000 banks — which means Russian banks cannot open letter of credit for exports – making any oil and gas transaction between Nigerian companies and Russian refineries illegal,”
Another source said:
“Diesel from Russia is typically offspec and is often corrected in places like Lome and Malta by blending with other components. In this case, there was no correction done as the vessel immediately transloaded into Matrix ships immediately upon arrival at offshore Lome on 16 June.”
The source noted, “They are selling flammable diesel with toxic fumes to Nigerians while pocketing huge profits.”
Dangote exposes bad fuel transactions
When the House of Representatives visited the Dangote Refinery on July 20, 2024, they purchased and tested diesel from Matrix filling stations, and the results showed that the sulphur levels were higher than 2,653 parts per million (ppm) compared to the required threshold of 50 ppm. This verified the import of poor diesel by Matrix.
According to Dangote, the test was conducted utilizing the ASTM D4294 technique using an Energy Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence (ED-XRF) Spectro Photometer.
“Our quality is about 600 to 650 ppm and is one of the best in terms of quality at that time when we started. But as of today, we’re at 87 ppm,” he said.
“The sample from TotalEnergies’s diesel showed 1,829ppm sulphur concentration. The sample from Matrix Retail showed 2,653ppm,” Dangote told the lawmakers last July.
Pinnace, Gas FZE, NNPC entangled in mess
Malta supplied petroleum products to Pinnacle Oil and Gas FZE facility, according to a leaked vessel arrival ullage report from the Nigerian Midstream Downstream Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).
According to those with knowledge of the situation, NNPC Retail was the intended recipient of the refined petroleum products, not Pinnacle Energy. Nonetheless, refined petroleum products were received from Malta using the Pinnacle facilities.
“The product was for an NNPC retail. And it comes from NNPC trading, which buys from trading companies. Matrix Energy is one of the trading companies,” one of the sources said.
“In addition to having their own terminal and their own retail outlets and so on, they are one of the importers.”
According to BusinessDay's inquiry, this is the first time cargo from Malta will be arriving at the dock.
Matrix denies wrongdoing
Reacting, Matrix Energy Group, denied bringing dirty fuel into Nigeria as alleged.
Ibrahim Akinola, the company's head of corporate relations, stated in a statement that the company's products adhere to approved specifications and that it has never been discovered to have imported inferior goods.
“Contrary to reports, Matrix Energy has never imported or distributed any substandard cargo in our two decades of operation.
NNPC gives update on fuel scarcity
Legit.ng earlier reported that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) appealed to the public for patience amid ongoing fuel shortages.
The oil company also addressed recent confusion surrounding subsidy payments.
Dapo Segun, the executive vice president of downstream, assured that the company is actively addressing the ongoing fuel scarcity.
Proofreading by James, Ojo Adakole, journalist and copy editor at Legit.ng.
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Source: Legit.ng
