THE two major petroleum product marketers involved in the sale of the recent contaminated fuel � Oando and Mobil � have been ordered by the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) to compensate all motorists whose vehicles were damaged by the fuel.
Besides, Swiss-based Gunvor International Bv, which imported the fuel, has been blacklisted. It is banned indefinitely from importing fuel into the country.
Announcing the sanctions in Lagos last night, Director of Petroleum Resources, Mr. Tony Chukwueke, said the fuel was blended with about 20 per cent ethanol, 15 per cent above the recommended level.
He said Oando Plc which is the major marketers involved had been asked to back-load the total 14,000 metric tonnes of contaminated products brought in by Gunvor.
His words: �I got the report concerning Mobil in Lekki, Lagos Island and Apapa and it has been traced to an Oando vessel which arrived on the 21 of February.
�Subsequently, we have decided that sanction be imposed on the importer and that the major marketers involved in the dispensation of the product should also compensate all motorists who may have experienced any form of damage from the fuel.�
But reacting to the development, the management of Oando Plc said it actually received a cargo 33,000 metric tonnes of gasoline from Gunvor Bv of Amsterdam on the 9th of January 2008, and the said cargo arrived Nigeria on the 14th of February 2008.
The product was subjected to Nigeria�s routine tests in line with industry specifications and standards upon arrival and the test results showed that the product was in accordance with the laid down specification
Oando spokesman, Mr. Niyi Olowola, confirmed that shortly thereafter, there were complaints from some receivers about the product�s effect on cars. The company then undertook some more tests.
�These tests revealed nothing wrong with the specification but revealed the presence of an unspecified substance. We made further enquiries from Gunvor, who informed us that there was a high level of ethanol in the product. We requested load port samples to be retested and the retest confirmed this information on the 29th of February 2008.�
Olowola said the issue of high ethanol content was willfully concealed from Oando by the supplier, and it is not a material that forms part of the specifications of Nigerian grade gasoline. Oando did not test for ethanol content and there was no indication in the original certificate of quality issued at loading port of ethanol presence.
�Immediately upon receiving this information, we set every available machinery in motion to mop up the product from circulation and stop further sale of same to consumers.
“We have, however, used our best endeavours to contain the situation and we are currently working with other marketers and Department of Petroleum Resources to effectively evacuate the quarantined products to ensure that none of the product remains within the system.
�Oando is as much a victim of this unfortunate incident, as many other Nigerians who have been adversely affected by this occurrence. We have, accordingly, commenced necessary legal action with a view to ensuring that the suppliers of the product assume full responsibility and bear liability for damages caused to vehicles as a result of use of the product.
�We affirm our commitment to delivering quality products to all our esteemed customers and we can confirm that appropriate mechanisms have been put in place to forestall any future occurrence of this nature,� he said.
Meanwhile, the DPR has insisted that Oando would also be made to pay a fine which corresponds with the amount paid for the importation of the product.
In the words of Chukwueke, �Oando should have been wary and should have at least asked what it is that is been blended with the product. However, in an effort to checkmate the further spread of the product, we have recalled nine trucks originally dispatched to the northern part of the country.
�Now, there would be new rules and regulations as regards imported products into Nigeria. Our plan in Nigeria is to blend about five percent ethanol with the present fuel in circulation, a strategy which has been confirmed by experts to be suitable enough for our car engines in Nigeria, � he said.