Oando denies ownership in Maltese oil storage, blending plant

Oil driller Oando Plc has refuted the claims that it holds shares in an oil storage and blending facility based in Malta and plays a role in bringing substandard petroleum products into the country.

The energy company, listed in Lagos and Johannesburg, also debunked allegations that its principals are board members of a company called 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,” Oando said in a statement issued on Friday, signed by Company Secretary Ayotola Jagun.

“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,” it added.

Oando noted that no revelation of the existence of a company of that name came from its due diligence efforts.

Africa’s richest person Aliko Dangote this week accused officials of state-owned oil & gas company NNPC Limited, traders and oil terminals in the country of running a blending plant somewhere off Malta.

His allegation has drawn reactions from Mele Kyari, the managing director of NNPCL, who disclosed on Monday he does not own any other business apart from a small local agriculture venture.

He also added he has no knowledge of any personnel of NNPCL owning or operating a blending plant in Malta or elsewhere.

“A blending plant in Malta or any part of the world does not influence NNPC’s business operations and strategic actions,” Mr Kyari said in an X (formerly Twitter) post on Tuesday.

Dangote Refinery had in June stated that international oil companies were sabotaging supply of domestic crude oil to the plant, adding that fuel traders were bringing diesel with a high sulphur content into the country, while regulators look away.

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Oando said the allegations of interests in the Maltese firm were made with the malevolent objective of misinforming the public and its stakeholders.

It further noted that, on account of its status as a listed company, it is obliged to disclose any corporate actions including those pertaining to the acquisition of stakes in other companies in accordance with Nigeria’s corporate governance laws.

Oando announced last month it participated in a US$3.3 billion structured crude oil-backed forward-sale finance facility sponsored by NNPCL, where it contributed $550 million through its oil trading arm.