Further damage to the worsened petroleum consumption network in Nigeria was averted last weekend as two cargoes ferrying potentially toxic petrol from Belgium to the country was turned back in the high seas.
The two cargoes are believed to be shipped by the same four importers named by the Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC) mid last week as culprits in the raging toxic petrol importation saga, whereas the current two cargoes in question were reportedly loaded from the same port in Antwerp, Belgium, Reuters reported.
Quoting Refinitiv Eikon ship tracking and other sources, the report said the two tankers, STI Symphony and Velos Diamantis, were turned back by the Nigerian government against the backdrop of other petrol cargoes loaded in Antwerp for containing too much methanol.
According to a fixture list from a ship broker and Refinitiv Eikon data, Litasco chartered the STI SYMPHONY for January 15 to take 90,000 tonnes of petrol to West Africa. The petrol was loaded in Antwerp on January 22 before heading to Nigeria sailing to Lagos, “the cargo has been turned back,” the tracker report said.
The VELOS DIAMANTIS, carrying 60,000 tonnes, and allegedly chartered by Mercuria, indicating Lagos as destination, did a U-turn on February 4, Refinitiv Eikon ship tracking showed adding that the tanker is now heading back to the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp oil hub.
The decision to turn back the two cargoes, OER gathered, came after the presidency queried the chief executive officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Mr. Farouk Ahmed, whose office is the amalgamated monitoring agency of the petroleum industry in Nigeria.
Following the incident of the toxic petrol in circulation, the NNPC banned methanol content in future petrol deliveries. Analyst said Methanol is sometimes added to petrol in small amounts because it is a cheaper and cleaner burning fuel that also optimises engine functioning, but becomes corrosive in excess quantity.
Observers say the narrative of the importation of the toxic fuel currently ravaging vehicles and causing petroleum scarcity will become clearer in the days ahead. Ironically, Kyari had maintained that the cargoes’ quality certificates issued at the loading port in Belgium, by AmSpec Belgium, indicated that the product complied with the Nigerian specification.
Kyari also stated that NNPC quality inspectors including GMO, SGS, GeoChem and G&G conducted necessary inspections and tests, and duly issued necessary certifications before discharge was made. This showed that the cargo also met Nigeria’s specifications.
While this situation should have absolved the listed importers – MRS, Emadeb/Hyde/AY Maikifi/Brittania-U Consortium, Duke Oil and Oando – as named by the NNPC, Kyari said, “All all defaulting suppliers had been put on notice for remedial actions.”
Analysts wonder the meaning of “further necessary action” when he had absolved them with his account of the outcomes of the various NNPC inspectors’ reports. “From Kyari’s account Nigeria has no national standard with methanol or its application into petrol mix,” a source said.
By Chibisi Ohakah Abuja
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