By Adewale Sanyaolu
The recent release of new approved Nigerian Industrial Standards (NIS) for petroleum products by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria, (SON), is set to put a stop to the influx of toxic and substandard fuels which have caused untold hardship to vehicles and generators in the past.
SON while announcing the new standards said the approved reduction in the sulphur content of imported petroleum products is in line with standards accepted worldwide.
Indeed, the inability of some government regulatory agencies to provide the needed enforcement to ensure that petroleum products imported into the country pass the set guidelines has been a source of worry to Nigerians and stakeholders alike.
Nigerians cannot be in a hurry to forget the news of the vessel christened Ostention laden with toxic fuel. The Italian vessel gained access to Nigerian territorial waters in 1996, where unsuspecting members of the public innocently bought contaminated fuel as genuine petrol resulting in the massive damage of automobiles, generators and other forms of machinery that use fuel as their source of energy.
That year, Nigerians car owners, recorded huge losses that were neither compensated for by the Federal Government nor the respective fuel stations where this contaminated product was bought.
At that time, the only feature that exposed the fuel as being contaminated or substandard was the horrifying odour that came with it which was not syn-onymous with the usual smell of fuel.
But because that was the only one available, Nigerians just assumed nothing was wrong, until automobile engineers began to record high turnover of dam-aged engines.
The 1996 incursion of toxic fuel christianed ‘Abacha Fuel’ was the most reported due to the far reaching effects it had on consumers.
This was followed by that of 2003 and the Oando toxic fuel saga of 2008. Of all the cases recorded, it was only that of 2003 that happened five days into the announce-ment of deregulation.
New SON standards
The new NIS standards rolled out by SON was communicated in a letter to Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ), endorsed by Head of Department, Product Certification Directorate, Mr. Tersoo Orngudwem, on behalf of the Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of SON.
With the new standards, the specification for sulphur was reviewed downwards in line with the world trend as follows: NIS: 116:2017 – Standard for Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) – Sulphur Content – 150ppm (max); NIS: 949: 2017 – Standard for Diesel Fuel (AGO) – Sulphur content – 50ppm (max) and NIS: 949:2017 – Standard for Household Kerosene (HHK) – Sulphur Content – 150ppm (max),” part of the letter read.
Sulphur content
According to a ministerial communiqué released at a meeting involving the Government of Nigeria, represented by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the Ministry of Environment, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) ECOWAS Commission, Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) and Partnership for Clean Fuels and Vehicles (PCFV) submitted that air pollution is a major public health concern with three million death resulting from outdoor air pollution.
The communiqué equally stated that 92 percent of world living where limits exceed World Health Organisation (WHO) are mostly from developing countries.
On the other hand, it stated that a switch to low-sulphur diesel plus the use of cleaner vehicles would result in annual savings in health costs of about $6 billion in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Reducing sulphur component of air pollutants in fuels will reduce direct emissions of both sulphur dioxide and sulfate particulate matter from all vehicles (old and new) leading to gains in health and the environment.
For investors, the communiqué hinted that refineries in the region are to be granted waivers to implement upgrade to enable them meet 50ppm diesel by 2020 with a further strategy to develop low sulphur fuel roadmaps and implementation strategy, import cleaner and fuel efficient cars into the region.
Ministers in the sub region should work together to have a uniform blending standard for refineries and vehicular emissions by 2020. Provide funding for installation of desulphurization plant for diesel production in refineries in the ECOWAS sub region to ensure compliance.
On compliance, the group said effective monitoring of fuel marketers to prevent blending and production of low standard fuel must be put in place while refineries in the sub region should be given a strict timeline to upgrade facilities to produce fuel that are within the range of 50ppm standard.
Toxic fuel
A toxic fuel, according to a former Group Executive Director, Refining and Petrochemicals, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mr. Anthony Ogbuigwe, has high sulphur content and other harmful chemicals, which result in high incidence of diseases with attendant high cost in health and development.
Regrettably, he revealed that Nigeria and some other African countries have been importing toxic fuel, with an average $1.6 trillion spent yearly to treat diseases traceable to petroleum products.
Ogbuigwe who is also the President of African Refiners Association said, “unfortunate-ly, many of these poor quality petroleum products are com-ing from outside Africa because the industry is unregulated and people are bringing in prod-ucts that have higher sulphur content and other chemicals, which are affecting our health.
“Many respiratory illnesses and sarcomatosis illnesses are traceable to this poor quality fuel. So, African Refiners Asso-ciation (ARA) is saying, we are going to go to African regional bodies like African Union (AU), Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), South African Development Commission (SADEC) and East African Community to plead with them for us to adopt specifications for better quality products.”
UN, raises the dust
When reports filtered in last September, that Swiss trading firms – Trafigura and Vitol – were exploiting weak regulations in Africa to import “dirty fuels” into Africa, including Nigeria, many dismissed it as impossible considering the many government agencies that are present at the ports.
But today, the story seems different as five countries in West Africa have decided to stop importing “dirty fuels” from Europe, the UN Environment Programme had said that Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire have all agreed on the import ban.
Daily Sun had in September reported the findings by Swiss watchdog group, Public Eye, with the title, “Dirty Diesel’’ which had alleged that the Swiss trading firms are blending and dumping dirty fuel in Nigeria and other West African countries with more than 100 per cent toxic (sulphur) levels allowed in Europe, thereby causing health and environmental hazards.
The ban
The UN says the move will help more than 250 million people breathe safer and cleaner air because the sulphur particles emitted by a diesel engine are considered to be a major contributor to air pollution and are ranked by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as one of the top global health risks associated with heart disease, lung cancer and respiratory problems.
In a statement, the UN Environment Programme said the five West African countries, in addition to banning the import of dirty fuels, have also agreed to upgrade the operations of their national refineries.
The upgrade, which will concern both public and privately owned refineries, is meant to boost standards in the oil produced in the five countries.
The report into Europe oil exports released in September particularly criticised the Swiss for their links to the African trade in diesel that has toxin levels illegal in Europe.
“West Africa is sending a strong message that it is no longer accepting dirty fuels from Europe. Their decision to set strict new standards for cleaner, safer fuels and advanced vehicle emission standards shows they are placing the health of their people first,” he added.
Welcome move
In his reaction, the Executive Director, ANEEJ, David Ugolor described the development as a major breakthrough for Nigeria and ANEEJ, considering the allied negative implications of having one of the highest sulphur content fuels imported into the West African sub-region by unscrupulous importers.
Regulatory lapses
But, the Director Centre for Petroleum Economics and Energy Law, Prof, Adeola Adenikinju, is not happy about the development.
Adenikinju had in a recent interview said once the claims of incursion of substandard petrol into the country has been established by DPR and Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), the companies involved should be sanctioned and blacklisted.
‘‘This is a very serious issue because it is the responsibility of DPR and PPPRA to ensure that the right quality and specification of petroleum products were brought into the country by importers.
Our national standard for petrol must reflect in the type of vehicles in the country if the regulatory agencies do their work well. And if such standards are not met, such cargoes must not be allowed to discharge their contents, but, rather returned to the country of origin,’’ he said.