February 10, (THEWILL) – The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has reassured Nigerians of its capacity to restore sanity in the supply and distribution of quality Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol across the country within a short period.
The Chief Executive Officer/Group Managing Director of NNPC, Mallam Mele Kyari, made the pledge at the end of a meeting with some oil marketers to resolve the issues generated by the recent supply and discharge of methanol blended petrol in some Nigerian depots.
Kyari emphasised that defaulting suppliers have been put on notice for remedial actions and NNPC is working with the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Regulatory Authority (NMDRA), to take necessary actions in line with subsisting regulations.
Providing details on the unfortunate incident, Kyari said on 20th January 2022, the company received a report from its quality inspector on the presence of emulsion particles in PMS cargoes shipped to Nigeria from Antwerp-Belgium.
He explained that NNPC investigation revealed the presence of Methanol in four PMS cargoes imported by the following Direct-Sale-Direct-Purchase (DSDP) suppliers as listed below:
1. MRS (Importer ) — MT Bow Pioneer (Vessel Name)  — LITASCO Terminal, Antwerp-Belgium (Load Port)
2 Emadeb/Hyde/AY Maikifi/Brittania-U Consortium  ( Importer )  — MT Tom Hilde (Vessel Name)  — LITASCO Terminal, Antwerp-Belgium (Load Port)
3 Oando (Importer) — MT Elka Apollon (Vessel Name)  — LITASCO Terminal, Antwerp-Belgium (Load Port )
4 Duke Oil (Importer) – MT Nord Gainer (Vessel Name) —-LITASCO Terminal, Antwerp-Belgium (Load Port )
Kyari noted that cargo 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 and also showed that the gasoline met Nigerian specification”, he said.
Kyari noted that as a standard practice for all PMS imports to Nigeria, the said cargoes were equally certified by an inspection agent appointed by the NMDRA.
“It is important to note that the usual quality inspection protocol employed in both the loadport 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’’, he stated.
However, in order to prevent the distribution of the petrol, Kyari said the company promptly ordered the quarantine of all un-evacuated volumes and the holding back of all the affected products in transit (both truck & marine).
