July 20, (THEWILL) – The full leadership of the House of Representatives, on Saturday, toured the Dangote Refinery complex in Lekki, Lagos, on a fact-finding mission, following the controversy over the refinery’s inability to secure crude cargoes from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and oil producers in the country.
The Speaker of the House, Tajudeen Abbas and his Deputy, Benjamin Kalu, led 13 other members on the tour.
THEWILL reports that on their way to the facility, the convoy detoured into two fuel stations (Matrix and Total) at the directive of the Speaker, to collect samples of diesel sold to the public. At the refinery complex, they also collected samples from diesel refined at the plant and subjected the three samples to a test at the Dangote laboratory in the presence of the press.
Two tests were conducted; a test of the sulphur level and a flash test. The flash point refers to the lowest temperature at which the application of the ignition source causes the vapours above the liquid to ignite with the minimum expected flash point at 66.
Result of the test shows all crude-based products contain some level of sulphur, the sulphur content in the diesel from Matrix was above 2,631 ppm and that of Total was 1,829 ppm; much higher than the recommended level while the tests for the flash point showed results of 26 and 63 respectively. Both results fell short of the recommended minimum of 66.
The results for the diesel from Dangote turned out to be 87.6 ppm for sulphur and 96 flashpoints.
THEWILL gathered that the lower the sulphur content, the better the quality of diesel. High sulphur levels cause damage to engines and vehicle components.
For Dangote, the result does not only show the reality of products from his refinery, but also shows that substandard petroleum products are being imported into the country and sold to unsuspecting Nigerians.
“The most important thing, your excellency, is to note that the imported one they are encouraging, is the spec in test, but in certain cases when you check (independently), different results will show. This is because those people, who have the lab have been told what to write”, Dangote said, adding that the best way to determine the quality of products being imported and sold to Nigerians is by going to the filling stations, buying and testing them.
“I don’t know how we have this contradiction of two players representing the public and private sector. I think it is something we need to investigate further to find out if there are ulterior motives”, Speaker Abbas, said.
