Society Gists

Nigeria was awash with news recently about the quantum leap in the quantity of fuel imports from Malta after revelations by Aliko Dangote, chairman of Dangote Petroleum Refinery. In 2023, Nigeria’s petroleum importation from Malta surged significantly to $2.08 billion, compared to zero between 2017 and 2022, and a mere $13.32 million in 2016.

Mele Kyari, the group chief executive officer (GCEO) of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd (NNPCL), immediately denied Dangote’s claim, saying he did not have interest in any plant in Malta. 

TheCable can now reveal the identity of one of the biggest importers via the tiny European country. He is Abdulkabir Adisa Aliu, owner of Matrix Energy and member of the presidential economic coordination council (PECC). In an interview with TheCable, however, Aliu strenuously denied any wrongdoing in his business practices and promised a full response to the newspaper’s questions. –   Of Humanity On August 5, NNPC introduced the Utapate crude oil blend into the international market. The new crude oil grade is from an oil mining lease (OML) 13, fully operated by NNPC Exploration and Production Limited (NEPL), an upstream subsidiary of NNPC. ‘FROM RUSSIA TO NIGERIA VIA MALTA AND LOME’ Matrix — which has three old ships (Matrix Pride, Matrix Triumph, and Matrix S.ILU) — reportedly loads diesel products exported from Russia in Lome, Togo. It is understood that the diesel from Russia is typically off-spec and is often corrected in places like Lome and Malta through blending with other components. However, on June 16, about 15,000 tonnes of diesel — loaded on May 26 from Novorossiysk, Russia, and transported by a vessel, MT Kallos — were reportedly transloaded into Matrix Triumph offshore Lome without corrections and discharged into Matrix jetty in Warri, Delta state, Nigeria, on June 21. On June 19, another 15,000 tonnes were transloaded into Matrix Pride and then discharged into the Obat Oil terminal on June 22. See also Companies Associated With Late Nigerian Banker Herbert Wigwe In documents seen by TheCable, the products from Malta were transported through intermediate ships and sometimes through intermediate companies like Poly Pro Trading registered in Dubai Free Trade Zone. Their listed office at OneJLT Towers 05.015, Dubai, is a business centre without any physical presence, according to checks by TheCable. “Malta is now the top European destination for blending and ship-to-ship (STS) transfers of sanctioned Russian oil and petroleum products ever since the Greek navy decided to stop such activities in their offshore zone,” the source said. “About 35 percent of shipment into Malta is naphtha and other components which are blended into gasoline to produce lower quality ‘African Spec’. This lower quality spec is then transhipped into various vessels for delivery into Nigeria to be sold to unsuspecting public who suffer frequent vehicle and equipment breakdowns.” 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.