The Dangote refinery and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited maintain their products are of high quality as a viral video triggered discussions about the standard of petroleum products sold to Nigerians at filling stations.

While the NNPC said it has never imported substandard petrol into the country, the Dangote Refinery insisted that its premium motor spirit is Euro-5 spec.

Recently, a video had surfaced online comparing the burn rate of the petrol produced by the Dangote Refinery and that of the NNPC, which concluded that the petrol from the NNPC doesn’t last long in fuel tanks.

Our correspondent reports a content creator’s claim of buying a litre of Dangote petrol from the MRS filling station in Alapere, Lagos, at N925 and the same litre from NNPC in Ojodu Berger at the rate of N945.

According to him, he poured the fuel into separate power generators, and the one running on NNPC fuel stopped after 17 minutes, while the Dangote petrol lasted until 30 minutes.

When the video sparked debates among Nigerians, the NNPC reacted by debunking the claims and revealing the petrol bought from its station was sourced from the Dangote Refinery.

However, speaking on the quality of the Dangote petrol, an official of the refinery said the facility will never stop producing high-quality petroleum products as promised by the President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote.

According to the official who pleaded anonymity, the refinery produces Euro-5 standard fuel that is good for engines and the environment.

“We don’t sell dirty fuel. Alhaji Aliko Dangote said it when he unveiled our petrol. We produce Euro-5 standard, and that is what our partners sell. Nigerians have been testifying to that. The burn rate of our fuel is very low, and this has positive impacts on the engine,” said the source.

“Go and find out what Euro-5 petrol means, and you will know why Nigerians are speaking about our PMS,” he added.

The PUNCH recalls that when he unveiled the PMS in September last year, Aliko Dangote boasted that his refinery would give Nigerians Euro-5 standard fuel.

He displayed samples of the petrol and diesel from the new refinery, stressing that it is the first in the country to produce Euro 5 fuels of less than 10 ppm, which contain lower sulphur and will prolong engine life.

The billionaire businessman stressed that this would help the vehicle engines last longer, while the health of people and that of the environment will not be polluted.

Euro-5 petrol is a premium grade. Its sulphur content is a maximum of 10 parts per million to reduce environmental impacts and a high-octane level for smooth burning in the engine.

According to the United States Energy Information Administration, octane ratings are measures of fuel stability.

“These ratings are based on the pressure at which a fuel will spontaneously combust (auto-ignite) in a testing engine. The higher an octane number, the more stable the fuel,” the US EIA said.

It added that retail gasoline stations in the United States sell three main grades of gasoline based on the octane level: the regular grade has the lowest octane, 87; the midgrade is generally 89–90, while the premium has the highest-octane content of fuel, 91–94.

It was learnt that some companies have different names for these grades of gasoline, such as unleaded, super, or super-premium, but they all refer to the octane rating.

Reflecting on the viral video on Tuesday, the Group Chief Executive of the NNPC, Mele Kyari, flayed talks about the existence of substandard fuel in the country, describing it as unfortunate drama and bad marketing practice.

Speaking while fielding questions at a fireside chat during the 60th Nigeria Mining & Geosciences Society Conference in Abuja, Kyari said the NNPC and indeed the country do not have any quality issues in its 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 stated.

He said PMS has quality standards that are obtainable in every country, and there are no two countries that have the same standards.

Citing an example, Kyari said in Europe, oxygenate (a fuel additive) has to be introduced into PMS; otherwise, it will solidify the tank in people’s cars. But if the same fuel additive is introduced into cars in Nigeria, it turns to water once it comes into contact with air.

In essence, Kyari said what is required by law to be introduced in one country is also required by law not to be introduced in another country.

He said the company has already taken the necessary legal and security steps to ensure that the people behind such videos don’t mess up the country, adding that the implications of such acts are no longer limited to the NNPC but more about messing up the whole country.

Experts have called on the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Authority to tell Nigerians the fuel grade being used in Nigeria and probe the grades supplied by all players in the sector.