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DMEA FUELS DMEA

Sonangol seen cutting fuel to São

Tomé and Príncipe over unpaid debts

AFRICA ANGOLA’S National Fuel and Oil Co. (ENCO), regular deliveries of fuel in the usual amounts
a division of the national oil company (NOC) whenever EMAE was able to ensure payment,
Sonangol, was expected to cut petroleum prod- provided that ENCO “manages to gather the
uct deliveries to the island state of São Tomé and necessary financial means to guarantee the pur-
Príncipe by 50% on Tuesday, March 1 due to chase of fuel from third parties.”
non-payment of debts. According to Osvaldo Abreu, São Tomé and
As of press time, it was not clear whether Príncipe’s Minister of Infrastructure and Mineral
ENCO had upheld its threat. According to Resources, this is hardly the first time ENCO has
reports from Ver Angola, the Sonangol subsid- been at odds with EMAE over payment prob-
iary’s board of directors had set the deadline lems. The two sides have been in similar situ-
in a letter to Empresa de Água e Eletricidade ations several times over the last few years and
(EMAE), the national water and power provider have resolved the impasse each time, he said in
of São Tomé and Príncipe, dated February 22. remarks broadcast by Rádio Nacional.
In the letter, ENCO said that if EMAE did not “There have been regular failures by EMAE
settle its bill, it would have to reduce the volume to [pay] ENCO, and from time to time – not
of fuel delivered to the island state by 50% as of only in this government [but] in the previous
March 1. It also stated that the utility faced “the government and in others – ENCO plays its
penalty of not being able to replenish the ‘stocks’ role as a commercial company, demanding
at the next import, scheduled for April 16, 2022,” more payments [from] EMAE,” he commented.
but did not offer further details. “Therefore everything after also falls under the
Thus far, the Sonangol subsidiary com- responsibility of the state.”
plained, EMAE has neither paid its bill for the Abreu continued: “When payment is not
fuel it has been receiving to run its generators made, there is this situation of fuel reduction for
nor made any attempt to work out a plan for the energy production, and then the state has to find
settlement of overdue bills. This failure to pay has a way to negotiate directly with Sonangol and the
imposed financial strains on ENCO, it said. Angolan government. We know what the cause
It did state, though, that it was ready to resume is. It’s that there’s no money.”™

Nigerian firms blamed for fuel contamination

AFRICA SEVERAL of the companies named by Nigerian company’s gasoline cargo had met inspectors’
National Petroleum Corp. (NNPC) as responsi- standards in port, both at loading and at dis-
ble for importing contaminated gasoline into the charge, and did not encounter any obstacles
country have denied responsibility for doing so. until it was submitted to more thorough testing
When summoned to appear before mem- by NNPC inspectors. “As clearly stated by NNPC
bers of the Nigerian House of Representatives’ last week when they were before this honoura-
Committee on Petroleum Resources (Down- ble committee, [the] current inspection proto-
stream) last week, representatives of Duke Oil col does not include testing for methanol content
and Oando averred that the gasoline they had and thus [the contamination] was not detected
loaded in Antwerp and delivered to Lagos had [in port] by the NNPC quality inspectors,” he
met Nigerian specifications. explained.
Lawal Sade, the managing director of Duke Meanwhile, Brittania-U, one of the members
Oil, a subsidiary of NNPC, testified that the of a four-part consortium identified as culpa-
gasoline had been certified as being compliant ble for importing contaminated gasoline, also
with specification at both the port of loading and denied responsibility.
the port of discharge by the relevant authorities. In a letter to the committee, the compa-
Duke Oil only learned of the trouble after dis- ny’s chairperson and CEO Uju Ifejika said that
charge, when NNPC reported that inspectors NNPC had never informed it that the gasoline
had found that the gasoline cargo contained had failed to meet requirements during the time
higher than acceptable levels of methanol. in question. It disputed the allegation and said
Afanga Afanga, a representative of Oando, that the state-owned company had not provided
made a similar statement. He stressed that his evidence for its claim. ™

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