Nigerian multinational energy firm, Oando PLC, has denied allegations that it owns a blending plant in Malta.
The company also denied claims that it was importing dirty fuel into Nigeria through a Maltese company, Raz Hansir Oil Terminal Limited.
In a statement, the company secretary, Ayotola Jagun, declared as unfounded the allegations that Oando is a shareholder and that its executives were board members of Raz Hansir Oil Terminal Limited.
“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 energy firm restated 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.
Recently, Malta and its oil became a topic of discussion 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.
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.”
Nigeria imported fuel worth $2 billion in 2023, according to data from Trade Map.
Earlier, the Group Chief Executive Officer of the NNPC, Mele Kyari, said he does not own a blending plant outside Nigeria.
Kyari expressed concerns over the several calls from associates and members of his family, seeking clarity over his purported ownership of a blending plant in Malta.
Dangote became outspoken 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 sulfur content than imported ones; a claim Dangote described as an attempt to demarket his refinery.
Ahmed insisted that Nigeria would continue to import fuel to stop the Dangote monopoly.
Following these allegations, our source disclosed that Ras Hanzir Oil Terminal Limited, a company engaged in crude oil blending in Malta, lists Oando Plc, a Nigerian-listed energy company with interests in oil exploration, production, and trading, as one of its shareholders. In 2014, Oando Plc acquired a stake in Ras Hanzir Oil Terminal Limited, making it one of the few Nigerian companies with direct investment in Malta’s oil storage and blending sector.
