Recently, there was a deluge of allegations around Malta Refinery, with claims that it is owned by Tinubu’s family, with many saying it is the reason Dangote refinery cannot access crude oil in Nigeria.
The claims have been circulating on Whatsapp, X handle and Facebook in regards to who owned Malta Refinery. Some of the contents come in video format.
Full Text Of Circulated messages
A claim on Whatsapp groups entitled: WHY DANGOTE REFINERY CAN NOT GET CRUDE OIL FROM NIGERIA.
“When I saw the Malta 🇲🇹 NNPC comment by Dangote, I suspected there was more to it. Our group decided to investigate further.
“Our discovery was deeply shocking. Thread #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria
First, I will break down the whole Oil theft process and how Oil exporting and importing business works here in Nigeria .
“NNPC grants importation licenses to a select group of oil companies, which are responsible for importing petroleum products into the country. These companies set the prices for petroleum products, and the media often refer to them as “oil marketers.
“We’ve another set responsible for exporting/selling unrefined petroleum products both locally and internationally. NNPC and few partner companies play a major role in this sector, along with high-ranking govt officials, military leaders, & politicians who are involved in oil theft.
“To better understand this thread I will briefly explain how oil exportation and importation works in Nigeria.
Please note every point I will list you will need them as reference as we progress, very important
“1. Extraction: Oil is extracted from the ground using drilling rigs.
2. Processing: The crude oil is exported(internationally) to refineries where it is processed into refined products
3. Transportation: The processed oil is transported from the refinery to storage tanks, blending facilities, and ports, typically via pipelines or ships.
4. Export: At the port, the oil is loaded onto tankers or other vessels and shipped to Nigeria and other countries
5. Sale: The oil is sold to buyers in Nigeria at a price set by the importer (oil marketer). The government subsidizes a significant portion of the oil price to make it more affordable for citizens, a practice known as fuel subsidy.
“Now let’s link the list together
Recently, Oando PLC announced the approval to acquire 100% of Nigerian Agip Oil Company. This effectively means that the Tinubu family now owns Agip Oil, which is part of Eni S.p.A., an Italian multinational oil and gas company.
Ras Hanzir Oil Terminal In Malta
“Agip Oil operates 17 onshore oil blocks and produces 11 million barrels of oil and condensates annually, and it also manages the Bonny natural gas liquefaction plant. One might wonder why such a successful company would divest 100% of such a critical asset.
“Observing similar situations, like the case with Dangote, suggests that this sale was not made lightly. Now, these crucial oil fields and plants in Nigeria are under the control of Tinubu through Oando PLC which is Tinubu’s family owned not even NNPC.
*Stay with me please
Continuing, with their control over substantial oil reserves in the Niger Delta and the ability to explore further through Agip Oil, their next step is refining. Instead of building a refinery in Nigeria, they opted to construct one in Malta 🇲🇹.
“This move allows them to exploit the country’s resources and obscure their activities.
In early 2021, Enemed Co Ltd, the leading fuel supplier in Malta, issued a tender for the leasing of storage tanks and a blending facility at the Ras Hanzir Oil Terminal in Malta.
“Ras Hanzir Oil Terminal Limited won the bidding. It is owned and operated by the Tinubu family, with Wale Tinubu, who is also the chairman of Oando PLC, serving as its chairman along with other members of the Tinubu family and their associates.
“The company has already established a functioning refinery in Malta, they have now acquired the storage tanks and blending facility oil terminals, which were recently exposed to the public.
Removal Of Subsidy
“Stay with me please
After Tinubu was sworn in as president, his first major move was to announce the removal of fuel subsidy, while the government continued to pay in secret, allowing him to increase petroleum product prices. This move was designed to benefit his own monopoly.
“With the recent forced acquisition of Agip Oil by Oando PLC, Tinubu as an individual has become the largest oil exporter, explorer, and marketer in the whole country, second only to NNPC.
Here’s the pattern: Tinubu, through NNPC, will sell Nigeria’s oil to himself at a low price via his company in Malta. He will also explore, extract and export oil using his newly acquired Agip Oil Company, which operates across the Niger Delta states of Ondo, Edo, Delta, Bayelsa,
I’mRivers, Imo, Abia, Akwa Ibom, and Cross River.
“Tinubu will then buy back the refined oil from his company in Malta through NNPC and as an oil marketer via one of his companies OVH Energy(Oando) at a higher price and export them back to Nigeria
“The refined oil is sold to the Nigerian public at a high price, while the subsidy, although officially removed, is still being paid secretly. Essentially, Tinubu is paying himself subsidy.‼️
“This scheme an extraordinary level of financial exploitation
Even after he leaves office, and Nigeria remains without refinery which he will make sure of, his Oil Monopoly over the country will remain standing. As if that is not enough, the govt will still pay him for subsidy!
“He sold Over 2 Billion Dollars worth of petroleum products to Nigeria through the Malta refinery just in 2023 alone, that’s an example of what the future of Nigeria Oil importation will look like
“That’s why he will fight the Dangote refinery with everything he has; if it becomes operational, his multi-trillion-naira oil monopoly enterprise will collapse.
The price of petroleum products like fuel will keeping increasing, while he still pays himself subsidy.
“Considering his age, one might wonder what he needs all this money for, other than sheer greed. It’s truly disheartening.
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• • •
Anonymous NG
@AnonXNG”
Another claim by WAZOBIA GIST
Anonymous participants also made comments, linking Mele Kyari, the NNPC Group Managing Director to the refinery.
The claim read: “The only Nigeria refinery that is working is the one in Malta owned by Mele Kyari NNPC Group Managing Director”.
Also, a claim on an X handle that has over 234.7k viewers said Tinubu’s family controlled Oil refinery plant in Malta with volume of data turned out of $2billion in 2023.
Verifications
Malta Oil and Gas is founded and managed by Paul Thomson, it is located in the United Kingdom.
Paul Thomson is an Oil and Gas Project Manager, Consultancy, Sub-contracting, Investments in Energy Malta Oil and Gas.
MOG’s management has secured a number of important contracts not only in Europe, but also in West Africa and the Middle East, particularly in the areas of project management and oil well management, acting as a project manager and providing consultancy services to some of the largest oil companies worldwide, including European government-owned oil companies.
The company is strategically placed in the Mediterranean and operates on a global scale. Also, the company has networking partners across 5 continents and is an established Oil & Gas Exploration and Production Company
A look at the website to find the board of directors only showed the information in these images above.
CONCLUSION
From our findings so far, we can say that the viral posts on the social networks – Facebook and X handle – and that being shared on Whatsapp as a forwarded message, is false.
VERDICT: FALSE.
