• Danger Looms as Nigeria Delays Enforcement of Dirty Fuels Import Ban

More than one and a half years after the Federal Government banned the importation of dirty fuels into the country, industry players and other stakeholders are still awaiting the enforcement of the ban.

Our correspondent gathered that a report had been submitted to the Federal Government by a committee that included the Department of Petroleum Resources, Standards Organisation of Nigeria, and the Ministry of Environment regarding the plan to shift to low-sulphur fuels.

Most of the petroleum products consumed in the country are imported with sulphur content as high as 1,000 parts per million for petrol and 3,000ppm for diesel.

On December 1, 2016 in Abuja, Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire agreed to ban the importation of Europe’s dirty fuels, limiting sulphur in fuels from 3,000 parts per million to 50 ppm.

But the enforcement of the ban failed to come into effect on July 1, 2017 in Nigeria as announced in December 2016 by the then Minister of Environment, Mrs Amina Mohammed.

A petroleum expert, Mr Bala Zakka, who expressed concern on the continued importation of dirty fuels, said, “One of the problems with Nigeria is lack of implementation of policies.”

“How on earth can we be exporting sweet crude that is almost sulphur-free or with a small percentage of sulphur and then be importing refined products with high sulphur content? This tells you that something is definitely wrong with Nigeria.” He spoke in a telephone interview with our correspondent.

The Chief Operating Officer of Refineries and Petrochemicals, NNPC, Mr Anibor Kragha, told the African Refiners Association in March this year that the country would lower the top level of sulphur in diesel to 50 parts per million from 3,000ppm, by July 1, 2018.

Kragha was quoted by Reuters as saying in a presentation during the ARA Week in Cape Town, South Africa, that while Nigeria was committed to cleaner fuel standards, significant costs complicated efforts to meet the deadline.

He also said that the ministries of Environment, Health, Petroleum Resources and Industry and Trade were working together to finalise rules that would be distributed to importers at some point in the second quarter of this year.

According to him, petrol sulphur level cuts will start in October, moving to 300ppm from 1,000ppm, with a target of 150ppm by October 1, 2019.

Kragha said the first shift to cleaner petrol would cost $11.7m per month, and the second, $15.7m per month, adding that the diesel reduction would cost $2.8m per month.

The National Operations Controller, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Mr Mike Osatuyi, said, “If we continue to import petroleum products with high sulphur because they are cheaper to the detriment of human lives, does it make sense? So, if it costs more and the lives of people are protected and the environment is safe, it is better.”

He told our correspondent that the increase in the price of the products as a result of the shift to low sulphur content would be marginal.

“The DPR, Federal Ministry of Environment, NNPC, SON, National Automotive Design and Development Council, PPPRA, and Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria were part of the committee that worked and reviewed the sulphur level on diesel, petrol and kerosene. They have concluded their report and sent it to the government for implementation,” an official of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources told our correspondent on condition of anonymity.

The United Nations Environment Programme said in December 2016 that the move to ban dirty fuel imports by Nigeria and others would dramatically reduce vehicle emissions and help more than 250 million people to breathe safer and cleaner air.

It noted that a report by Public Eye in September 2016 exposed how European trading companies were exploiting the weak regulatory standards in West African countries, allowing for the exportation of fuels with sulphur levels up to 300 times higher than was permitted in Europe.

In a statement dated September 8, 2017 on its website, the Federal Ministry of Environment said in line with the government’s commitment to reduce emissions to protect human health, it had in collaboration with Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment/SON and in due consultation with relevant stakeholders successfully reviewed standards of sulphur content in diesel and petro-products.

It said, “The specified level of sulphur that would henceforth be acceptable in petroleum fuels used in the country is as follows: From July 1, 2017, diesel should have maximum sulphur levels of 50 parts per million; petrol should have maximum sulphur levels of 150 ppm; and household kerosene should have maximum sulphur levels of 150 ppm.”

“Petroleum products that have high sulphur content levels produce high emission levels in automotive engines. Such vehicular emissions contain high level of toxic pollutants such as benzenes and particulates that have negative impact on human health and on the environment. Modern vehicles require fuels that meet high quality standards for a more efficient operation of their engines.”

Compared to other parts of the world, such as Europe and North America, fuel quality in many African countries, including Nigeria, remains very poor.

European standards for fuel quality include Euro IV (50ppm for petrol and diesel) and Euro V (10ppm for both).

UNEP, ARA and health campaigners have been pushing West African nations to ban fuels that are illegal in Europe and the United States for years due to what they say are significant health problems associated with sulphur emissions – particularly in dense urban areas such as Lagos.

The region is said to be one of the last on earth where it is legal to sell fuels with sulphur levels at and above 1,000ppm as East and North African nations and major Asian consumer countries such as China and India have already tightened rules.

ARA has developed the AFRI specifications as guidelines for the production of cleaner fuels including AFRI III (300ppm for petrol and 500ppm for diesel), AFRI IV (150ppm for petrol and 50ppm for diesel). Africa aims to produce fuels with the AFRI-4 specifications by 2020.