01 October 2013, Lagos – The Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR, has charged owners of depots and other stakeholders in the downstream sector not to compromise the quality of imported petroleum products.
The agency stressed that it would continue to monitor the quality and quantity of products being received and loaded from the depots to ensure that they meet specifications.
Speaking at a recent annual general meeting of the agency and the depot owners in Lagos, the DPR’s Operations Controller for Lagos Zone, Mr. Gbenga Koku, said though the downstream sector was faced with daunting challenges, it was the collective responsibility of the regulatory agency and the operators to ensure safe operations in accordance with the petroleum laws.
Koku also urged the operators to ensure that only accredited third party laboratories were engaged when recertifying imported products.
“We are putting measures in place that will allow regular sampling of products from depots’ storage tanks to ensure that unwholesome products are not allowed to get into the distribution chain,” he said.
He noted that the operators had ignored the DPR’s earlier directive to install positive displacement meters at the inlet pipes into all the depots, and reminded them that dynamic measurement was becoming the global standard and Nigeria’s oil industry should not be left behind.
Koku also noted that some of the depot owners were modifying their facilities without recourse to the apex regulator of the oil and gas industry.
According to him, the operators would require DPR’s approval before any increase in storage tank; any work that deviates from the approved design of the depot, as well as the reconstruction, rehabilitation or modification of existing petroleum products storage facilities.
He cautioned the depot owners against selling petroleum products to unlicensed outlets.
“One area of particular concern to us therefore, is the supply of petroleum products to facilities and premises without appropriate licences and permits from the DPR. We have severally warned marketers on this issue but sadly, the practice is still prevalent. It is our intention to deploy more stringent monitoring regime in order to bring this practice to an end,” he said.
“Petroleum regulations provide that only the DPR registered companies are allowed to conduct business in Nigeria’s oil industry. It is therefore pertinent to urge all of you to engage only companies that are registered with DPR to carry out any job in your facilities,” Koku added.
To ensure safe delivery of products to the retail outlets, Koku charged the depot owners to ensure that their transporters train their drivers.
“It is important for the drivers to be trained and sensitised on certain issues. The drivers should be trained to understand that there is a difference between carrying Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) and carrying diesel,” he said.
– This Day
