This report has been updated. See the bottom for details.
OANDO Plc, one of Nigeria’s successful independent oil and gas companies, had on Friday, July 26, refuted widespread allegations of owning a blending plant in Malta, Raz Hansir Oil Terminal Limited, where dirty petroleum products are allegedly imported into Nigeria.
A statement by the energy company on its X handle stated that neither Oando PLC nor its executives have ever held shares, investments, or interests in the ‘fictitious’ Maltese company.
“As part of a comprehensive investigation into the basis of the false claims, we conducted a search of the Malta Business Registry, the official repository for all registered entities, past and current, within the country. Our search yielded no results for a company bearing that name. Subsequent due diligence efforts similarly failed to uncover any record of the company’s existence.
“We therefore believe that the false claims are of the malicious intent of misleading the public and our stakeholders,” the company said.
The company further reiterated that any corporate action by Oando, including acquisitions, is disclosed to the public in compliance with applicable corporate governance laws and regulations because the company is publicly traded.
Controversies
Both Oando and the Maltese blending plant have been in the news following an allegation by the President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, that some officials at the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) own and operate an oil blending plant in Malta.
An oil blending plant has no refining capability but can be used to blend re-refined oil (a used motor oil that has been treated to remove dirt, fuel, and water) with additives to create finished lubricant products.
Dangote said this while speaking at the House of Representatives on Monday, July 22, noting that diesel produced locally at 650 parts per million (ppm) and 700 ppm is of better quality than imported fuel.
“Some of the terminals, some of the NNPC people, and some traders have opened blending plants somewhere off Malta. We all know these areas. We know what they are doing,” Dangote said.
The ICIR reported that Dangote and the Nigerian petroleum regulator – the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) – have been at daggers-drawn over his refinery’s access to Nigeria’s crude with the regulator recently casting doubt over the quality of his diesel.
The impasse between both parties also led to Dangote’s affirmation that the NNPCL did not own a 20 per cent share in his company because of failure to fulfil certain payment obligations.
The business mogul had admitted regrets in investing over $20 billion in the refinery and said his friend who advised him not to make the investment in Nigeria was taunting him over his predicaments.
He has repeatedly lamented how difficult it had been to get the feedstock required to keep his company’s 650,000 capacity running, compelling it to source crude oil supply from Brazil and the United States.
Editor’s Note: The report was updated to remove the section that referenced ‘Malta Business Registry shows inconsistencies’, this is because the section of the report had referenced an outdated business registry. The headline was also updated.
Usman Mustapha is a solution journalist with International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: [email protected]. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M