The Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Ltd, Mr. Mele Kyari, has dismissed reports of sub-standard fuel in the country, describing them as unfortunate drama and bad marketing practice.
Kyari made the statement while fielding questions at a fireside chat during the 60th Nigeria Mining & Geosciences Society (NMGS) Conference in Abuja on Tuesday.
In a statement by the Chief Corporate Communications Officer of the national oil company, Mr. Olufemi Soneye, Kyari maintained that the NNPC Ltd, and indeed the country, do not have any issues of quality in the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) also known as petrol across the country.
“The talk around fuel quality is unfortunate and a very bad marketing practice. It’s all drama and entertainment and as we know, drama has a way of entertaining the people,” Kyari said.
Kyari explained that Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) has quality standards which are obtainable in every country and there are no two countries that have the same standards.
He cited an example, saying that in Europe, oxygenate (a fuel additive) has to be introduced into PMS otherwise it will solidify the tank in people’s cars.
However, if the same fuel additive is introduced into cars in Nigeria, it turns to water once it gets into contact with air.
The NNPC boss also debunked reports claiming that NNPC Ltd has imported 200 million litres of fuel in February this year.
“These are just lies because we didn’t even import products within that window that the report was published. All the mischief about aligning this fictitious importation with the so-called low-quality fuel are just baseless,” he declared.
Kyari said, importation is a normal practice in the industry, as every country imports petroleum products, including the United States.
He noted that Nigeria has supplied petroleum products to countries such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which doesn’t mean that there are no refineries in those countries.
The NNPC boss also commended the country’s regulatory agencies, such as the Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON) and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Regulatory Agency (NMDPRA) for ensuring that every product that comes into the country meets the required product specifications and standards.
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