The half-brother of the African richest man Aliko Dangote, Sayyu Dantata, has been revealed as one of the importers of petroleum products from Malta.
Mr Dantata is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of MRS Oil and Gas.
Documents published by Daily Nigerian revealed that MRS imported fuel into Nigeria in February through the vessel ‘MT AETHER’.
Last month, Mr Dangote, founder of Dangote Petroleum Refinery, revealed that some officials of NNPC and oil traders have blending plants in Malta, where they produce and import dirty petroleum products that are brought to Nigeria for consumption.
The newspaper also said in separate letters dated March 4 and addressed to the CEO of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory (NMDPRA) and the CEO of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), MRS confirmed that it had purchased 91,219.232 Mt Vac (MTV) of unleaded petrol 91 research octane number (RON) from PETROCAM DMCC.
The letter was said to have been signed by Moyosola Kuku, MRS Oil’s general manager (GM) of risk management.
Findings revealed that unleaded petrol is a premium motor spirit (PMS) that has not been treated with a lead compound, which is included in petrol to serve as an ‘antiknock agent’ which improves the efficiency of vehicles and the performance of the engine.
On the other hand, RON is a measure of petrol stability, and the higher an octane number is, the more stable the petrol, as the octane rating tells you how resistant the petrol is to detonation, known as knocking or pinking, it was revealed. RON 91–94 is considered premium petrol, it was learned.
The MRS GM said the product was loaded at the port of OPL MALTA, onto ‘MT AETHER’.
The letter reads thus: “We hereby confirm that MRS Oil and Gas Co. Ltd. purchased 91,219.232 Mt Vac of unleaded gasoline 91 Ron from PETROCAM DMCC, was loaded at the port of OPL Malta onto vessel MT AETHER with bill of lading dated 19/02/2024 as evidenced by the following documents attached, bill of lading, cargo manifest, certificate of origin, and certificate of quantity,” the letter reads.
“In line with the February 2024 spot gasoline supply contract, we subsequently sold full cargo on board MT AETHER [91.219.232 MTV] to NNPC for delivery offshore Lagos.
“We remain at your disposal for any further information you might require.”
MRS Oil and Gas, in another letter dated March 4 2024, and sent to the Managing Director of NNPC Trading Limited, also confirmed the sale of full cargo on board MT AETHER to Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited for delivery offshore Lagos.
The letter was titled ‘Confirmation of Sale of Cargo to Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation’.
“We MRS Oil and Gas Co. Ltd., hereby confirm that we sold full cargo on board MT AETHER (91,219.232 MTV) with bill of lading dated 19/02/2024 to NNPC for delivery offshore Lagos,” said the letter.
“We remain at your disposal for any further information you might require.”
Last month, a dispute broke out between Dangote Refinery and regulators when the CEO of NMDPRA Farouk Ahmed, said local refineries, including the Dangote refinery, produce inferior products compared to the ones imported into the country.
Mr Dangote, on July 20, denied the allegations by testing diesel from his refinery when federal lawmakers visited the plant.
The African richest man also called for an investigation into the allegations of the NMDPRA.
Subsequently, Mr Dangote went ahead to accuse “some officials of NNPC” and oil traders of owning blending plants in Malta, where they produce and import off-spec petroleum products that are brought to Nigeria for consumption.
The Group CEO of NNPC, Malam Mele Kyari, immediately denied Dangote’s allegations, saying he did not have interests in any plant in Malta.
