The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited provided the names of companies it said were responsible for importing adulterated gasoline into the country.
The government said it found methanol in recently imported fuel at levels well above those allowed. This has led to fuel shortages in the country’s major cities and a 10-day shortage in national fuel reserve capacity.
The NNPC, which manages fuel imports through the government’s direct sale and direct purchase suppliers, said on Wednesday that the fuel came from Antwerp, Belgium.
He listed the providers as MRS, Oando, Duke Oil and Emadeb/Hyde/AY Maikifi/Brittania-U Consortium.
This breakthrough came after the federal government said on Wednesday that it would conduct a major investigation into the circumstances surrounding the importation of adulterated fuel into the country.
The NNPC chief said quality inspectors initially missed the high level of methanol at the point of arrival in Nigeria because officials usually check for methanol.
“On January 20, 2022, NNPC received a report from our quality inspector regarding the presence of emulsion particles in PMS shipments shipped to Nigeria from Antwerp-Belgium,” he said.
“The cargo quality certificates issued at the loading port (Antwerp-Belgium) by AmSpec Belgium indicate that the gasoline met Nigerian specifications.
“NNPC quality inspectors, including GMO, SGS, GeoChem and G&G, conducted tests prior to unloading and also proved that the gasoline met Nigerian specifications.
“As standard practice for all PMS imports into Nigeria, such shipments were similarly certified by inspection agents appointed by the Petroleum Midstream and Downstream Regulatory Authority (NMDRA).
“It is important to note that the usual quality inspection protocol employed at both the port of loading in Belgium and our ports of discharge in Nigeria does not include testing for percentage of methanol content and therefore our quality inspectors quality did not detect the additive,” he said.
