Contrary to its earlier promise, Dangote Refinery has reportedly failed to meet the demand of Nigerian petroleum marketers.

Consequently, the oil dealers have returned to their mode of buying the product outside the country and shipping them into Nigeria to sell.

They accused Dangote Refinery of inability to meet their demand, stressing that the need to prevent fuel scarcity forced them into patronising foreign petroleum refiners.

According to them, the development is to supplement the country’s fuel supply.

The old dealers also cashed in on the fair market price to be importing the product following the federal government’s full deregulation of the downstream oil sector.

In September for instance, the marketers imported about 141 million litres of fuel in September.

Investors King gathered that no fewer than four vessels carrying 123.4 million litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) arrived at Nigerian seaports between Friday, October 18, and Sunday, October 20.

In a document by the Nigerian Port Authority (NPA), the four newly shipped vessels landed at the Apapa port in Lagos and the Calabar port in Cross River State.

It was gathered that 35,000, 37,000 and 10,000 metric tonnes of PMS arrived at Apapa port on Friday, October 18 in different batches.

Another 10,000 metric tonnes of fuel was said to have arrived at Calabar port on Sunday, October 20.

Dangote Refinery had promised to produce 650,000 barrels per day to meet its promised production target.

However, oil dealers had earlier disclosed that the refinery was producing only 10 million litres of petrol daily, far below its initial promise of 25 million litres.

The total fuel so far imported into the country stands at approximately 123.4 million litres of petrol if the conversion rate of 1,341 litres to one metric tonne is considered.

In an attempt to address the persistent collapse of the national grid, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has announced plans to initiate talks with Independent Operators to take over the management of the grid.

The announcement follows the recent collapse of the national grid, which left the entire country in darkness.

Recall that the national grid collapsed in the early hours of Saturday, October 19, marking the third time in one week and the seventh time in less than a year.

NERC made the announcement via a statement on its X handle.

In the statement, the commission decried the persistent collapses of the national grid, noting that they reverse many of the gains achieved by the commission.

While confirming Saturday’s collapse, NERC attributed the situation to an explosion of a transformer at the Jebba transmission station as the cause of the failure.

Furthermore, the statement revealed that NERC had already initiated discussions to transfer the management of the national grid to Independent System Operators.

According to the commission, the move is in line with the provisions of the Electricity Act 2023 and is expected to bring more discipline to grid management.

The statement also emphasized that this step reflects the government’s commitment to finding a permanent solution to the national grid’s challenges.

The statement read: “The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission notes with concern the recent escalating incidence of grid disturbances, often leading to significant outages in several states, thus reversing many of the gains recently achieved in reducing infrastructure deficits and improving grid stability.

“Initial reports on the grid disturbance that occurred this morning indicate that today’s outage was triggered by an explosion of a current transformer at the Jebba transmission station at 08:15 hours and an associated cascade of power plant shutdowns arising from the loss of load.

“However, efforts to restore supply have advanced with power significantly restored, as of 13:00 hours, in 33 states and the FCT.

“In line with the provisions of the Electricity Act 2023, the unbundling of the System Operator function from the Transmission Company of Nigeria Plc is ongoing, with the expectation that an Independent System Operator will bring more discipline to grid management and optimize investment in infrastructure.

“In pursuit of a permanent resolution to the national grid’s challenges, the Commission will soon conduct an investigative public hearing to identify the immediate and underlying causes of recurring grid disturbances and widespread outages.

“The date and venue of the public hearing will be announced shortly in the national dailies, and stakeholders are encouraged to participate.”

The Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative (PCNGI) has finally broken silence on the recent explosion of a CNG-powered vehicle which left many injured at a NIPCO Station located at Eyean, Auchi Road, Edo State.

Reacting to the incident via a statement released on Friday, the initiative revealed that it carried out an investigation after the explosion.

According to the PCNGI, the investigation showed that the exploded cylinder was welded and modified without approval for use for CNG.

The PCNGI detailed that the investigation, which they coordinated, was in collaboration with the police, regulatory authorities and management of NIPCO.

Furthermore, the body disclosed plans by the government to launch a monitoring system to ensure the safe use of the compressed gas.

The statement reads, “The Presidential CNG Initiative notes the unfortunate incident that involved an illegally modified vehicle at a NIPCO CNG Station at Aduwawa in Benin City on Wednesday, October 16, 2024.

“The PCNGI commiserates with those injured in this avoidable incident and is thankful that no lives were lost. The PCNGI also note that the safe handling of all hydrocarbons is critical to their safe use.

“A close examination of the cylinder in question in Benin City shows it was welded and modified and not approved for use for CNG.

“The police, regulatory authorities and management of NIPCO are undertaking a painstaking investigation of the incident and we are coordinating with them.

“This incident reiterates the impetus of the PCNGI and our partners on the soon-to-be-launched Nigeria Gas Vehicle Monitoring System at SON, NMDPRA, NADDC and FRSC to tackle any bad actors in the ecosystem that seeks to make this safer, cheaper, cleaner and more reliable source of fueling risky for all.

“We also call on all stakeholders to cooperate with the new system of regulation and ensure full compliance. Only accredited conversion centres must be patronized and safe handling of CNG just like petrol ensures the safety of all.

“Unfortunately, the cylinder installed in the vehicle — later identified as a fake and fabricated, substandard unit not designed for CNG — exploded after filling with just around 4 SCM of gas.

“The driver fled the scene immediately after the incident.

“While no fatalities were recorded, two individuals sustained injuries. One person suffered a leg injury, and another sustained an eye injury. Both victims were promptly rushed to the hospital for medical attention.”

Investors King reported that the CNG converted vehicle exploded on Wednesday, causing multiple injuries and destruction of properties within the vicinity of the incident.

The explosion reportedly occurred during the refueling of the station wagon’s CNG cylinder vehicle.