Oando denies Malta blending plant ownership claims

Oando PLC has denied allegations on social and digital media that it owns a blending plant in Malta.

The energy company also denied importing dirty fuel into Nigeria through a Maltese company, Raz Hansir Oil Terminal Limited.

A statement by the company secretary, Ayotola Jagun, said the allegations levelled against Oando of being a shareholder and its principals of being board members of Raz Hansir Oil Terminal Limited, a company that operates an oil storage and blending facility responsible for importing adulterated petroleum products into Nigeria, were unfounded.

“We wish to refute such claims and attest that neither Oando PLC nor its Executives have ever held shares, investments, or interests in the fictitious Maltese company.

“As part of a comprehensive investigation into the basis of the false claims, we conducted a search of the Malta Business Registry, the official repository for all registered entities past and current within the country. Our search yielded no results for a company bearing that name. Subsequent due diligence efforts similarly failed to uncover any record of the company’s existence.

“We therefore believe that the false claims are of the malicious intent of misleading the public and our stakeholders,” Jagun stated.

The company reiterated that as a publicly listed company, any corporate actions, such as acquisitions, are declared publicly in accordance with applicable corporate governance laws and rules.

“Furthermore, it is imperative that information released about a publicly quoted company such as Oando, is thoroughly researched and deemed accurate before it is published in the public domain.

“The company’s securities are traded daily across two exchanges (NGX and JSE). To prevent misinformation and confusion among investors, as well as our other stakeholders, we implore all members of the press to take adequate steps to ensure the veracity of reports by fielding all inquiries with Oando PLC’s Corporate Communications department,” Jagun said.

Malta and its oil became a topic of discussion lately following allegations by the President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, that some officials of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited own blending plants in Malta.

Amid the crisis surrounding his $20bn refinery, Dangote had said: “Some of the terminals, some of the NNPC people, and some traders have opened blending plants somewhere off Malta. We all know these areas. We know what they are doing,” Dangote said.

Data from Trade Map showed that Nigeria imported fuel worth $2bn in 2023 alone.

Earlier, the Group Chief Executive Officer of the NNPC, Mele Kyari, said he does not own a blending plant outside Nigeria.

Kyari stated that he had been inundated with calls from family members and friends, asking if he truly owned a blending plant in Malta.

Dangote has been speaking up following allegations by the Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, Farouk Ahmed, that the diesel produced by the Dangote refinery had higher sulphur content than imported ones; a claim Dangote described as an attempt to demarket his refinery.

Ahmed also said the country would continue to import fuel to stop the Dangote monopoly.