Pinnacle Refutes Link with Petroleum Cargo from Malta

Peter Uzoho

Pinnacle Oil and Gas Limited has dissociated its petroleum terminal from any link with a cargo that originated in Malta.

Pinnacle in a statement issued and signed by its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Robert Dickerman, which was sent to THISDAY, insisted that it had never accepted any product into their tanks that did not meet all specifications of Nigerian regulations.

The petroleum marketer stated that at their terminals, the regulators oversee quality control of all imported products and had the products inspected by independent, qualified inspectors before issuing a discharge certificate.

The downstream oil and gas sector operator maintained that they could not and would never be involved in the distribution of products that did not meet all specifications of Nigerian regulatory agencies.

Africa’s richest man and Chairman of Dangote Petroleum Refinery, Aliko Dangote, recently alleged that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and some traders operated a blending plant in Malta from where they import dirty fuels into the country.

Since Dangote’s allegation, some oil marketing companies have been linked with the importation of dirty fuels from Malta.

But to dissociate itself from the alleged deal, Pinnacle stated in statement: “In a recent publication, our terminal was associated with a cargo that originated in Malta. Pinnacle has never accepted any product into our tanks that does not meet all specifications of Nigerian regulations, and we never will.

“At our terminals, the regulators oversee quality control of all imported products and have the product inspected by independent, qualified inspectors before issuing a discharge certificate. We cannot and will not ever be involved in the distribution of products that does not meet all specifications of Nigerian regulatory agencies.”