Meet Tinubu’s Official Allegedly Importing Bad Petrol from Malta

Recent investigations have exposed a concerning operation involving the importation of substandard petrol from Malta into Nigeria, Africa’s leading oil producer.

The company allegedly behind the Malta import is Matrix Energy, a Nigerian firm with both upstream and downstream operations. The company is owned and operated by Abdulkabir Aliu, who also serves on the Presidential Economic Coordination Council (PEEC), tasked with enhancing Nigeria’s economic governance.

How bad petrol from Malta reaches Nigeria

Documents leaked to BusinessDay indicate that Matrix Energy has been importing poor-quality petrol from Russia, which is then mixed in Malta—a nation without its own oil refineries—before being sent to Nigeria.

This process involves diluting lower-quality fuel with better-grade petrol, creating a final product that falls below the required safety and quality standards. Such practices have raised significant concerns regarding the safety and quality of fuel available to Nigerian consumers.

Matrix Energy manages significant assets, including the Bluefin Depot in Warri with a capacity of 150 million liters, three aging vessels—Matrix Pride, Matrix Triumph, Matrix S.ILU—and about 600 trucks.

“They are very active in the import of Russian products through various blending locations,” revealed an insider in the shipping industry.

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The Russian Mix

Shipping data has shown that Matrix Energy vessels, like the ‘MT Kallos,’ have been loading off-spec petrol from ships arriving from Novorossiysk, Russia. 

“The scale of this is alarming,” stated Kelvin Emmanuel, an energy expert. He highlighted the legal complexities due to Russia’s exclusion from the global banking system.

“First of all, Russia was excommunicated from the swift global banking framework of nearly 12,000 banks — which means Russian banks cannot open letter of credit for exports, which makes any oil and gas transaction between Nigerian companies and Russian refineries illegal,” he said.

On June 16, 2024, the vessel ‘Matrix Triumph’ offloaded 15,000 tons of petrol at Matrix’s Warri jetty. This petrol was subsequently found to be off-spec and not properly treated. 

This finding was corroborated during a visit by the House of Representatives to the Dangote Refinery on July 20, 2024, where diesel samples from Matrix stations were tested and found to have sulphur levels of 2,653 ppm—far exceeding the permissible limit of 50 ppm.

Another source said: “Diesel from Russia is typically offspec and is often corrected in places like Lome and Malta by blending with other components. In this case, there was no correction done as the vessel immediately transloaded into Matrix ships immediately upon arrival at offshore Lome on 16 June.”

Malta’s Critical Role

Malta has emerged as a crucial European hub for the blending and transferring of sanctioned Russian oil, particularly as other European nations have ceased such operations. 

A leaked vessel arrival ullage report from the Nigerian Midstream Downstream Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) also revealed that the Pinnacle Oil and Gas FZE terminal, managed by Robert Dickerman, received petroleum products from Malta intended for NNPC Retail. 

“The product was for an NNPC retail, sourced from NNPC trading which buys from trading companies. Matrix Energy is one of those trading companies,” disclosed a source.

In July 2024, approximately 200,000 tons of gasoline from Malta were allegedly discharged into a jetty owned by Matrix Energy, accounting for about 25% of Nigeria’s monthly PMS consumption—a substantial amount for a company with only 150 retail stations.

Health implications of bad petrol

The importation of substandard petrol has dire implications for public health. According to a report by the Stakeholder Democracy Network (SDN), the poor quality of fuel significantly impacts public health and the environment, particularly in the Niger Delta region. 

The SDN’s research underscores the urgent need for stringent regulation, as the current lax standards allow harmful, low-quality petrol to enter the Nigerian market, reducing life expectancy and compromising public health.