New data has emerged showing that Nigeria imported fuel worth $2.25 billion from Malta over the past nine years. This revelation follows allegations by Alhaji Aliko Dangote, founder of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, who claimed that some officials of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) have blending plants in Malta.
According to Trade Map data, Nigeria imported petroleum oils derived from bituminous minerals worth $2.8 billion in 2023, marking a significant 342 percent increase from $47.5 million in 2013. In specific years, Nigeria imported fuel valued at $59.98 million in 2014, $117.01 million in 2015, and $13.32 million in 2016. Notably, from 2017 to 2022, there were no fuel imports from Malta. However, there was a dramatic surge in 2023, with fuel imports amounting to $2.08 billion.
These figures have lent credence to Dangote’s claims about NNPC officials possibly owning blending plants in Malta. In light of ongoing issues with his $20 billion refinery, Dangote stated, “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.”
In response, NNPC’s Group Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari, has firmly denied owning or operating any blending plant outside Nigeria. Kyari reported receiving numerous inquiries from family and friends regarding Dangote’s allegations. He clarified, “I do not own or operate any business directly or by proxy anywhere in the world except for a local mini-agric venture. Neither am I aware of any employee of the NNPC that owns or operates a blending plant in Malta or anywhere else in the world.”
Kyari further emphasized his position, saying, “I am inundated by enquiries from family members, friends, and associates on the public declaration by the President of Dangote Group that some NNPC workers have established a blending plant in Malta, thereby impeding procurements from local production of petroleum products.”
Dangote has been vocal about these issues, particularly in response to claims by Farouk Ahmed, Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, that diesel produced by the Dangote refinery had higher sulphur content than imported diesel. Dangote described these claims as an attempt to undermine his refinery, while Ahmed asserted that the country would continue to import fuel to prevent a Dangote monopoly.
