Dangote Petroleum Refinery has vehemently denied allegations of reselling shipments of crude oil from the United States and Nigeria due to technical problems at the refinery. The denial comes after a report by Reuters claimed that the refinery was reselling crude oil due to operational issues affecting its crude distillation unit.

According to the report, the refinery was offering cargoes of US West Texas Intermediary (WTI) Midland crude and Nigerian Escravos and Forcados crude for resale, citing technical problems. However, Anthony Chiejina, chief branding and communication officer of Dangote Group, described the report as “outright falsehood.”

Chiejina stated that the refinery is not authorized to sell any crude it buys from Nigeria and that the crude distillation unit is working perfectly. He advised the public to ignore the “false narratives” being peddled by those bent on importing dirty fuels into the country.

The denial comes amid ongoing issues between the refinery and government agencies. Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest person, had claimed that international oil companies (IOCs) were struggling to supply crude to his refinery. However, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) described the claim as “erroneous,” citing provisions in the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) that guide willing buyer-willing seller transactions.

The management of Dangote Industries Limited (DIL) has also insisted that IOCs are frustrating its request to purchase crude feedstock for the Dangote refinery. Meanwhile, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has alleged that local refineries, including the Dangote refinery, are producing inferior products compared to imported ones.