Yemisi Izuora
The Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR, will soon commence a phase out of petrol tankers operating in the down stream sector of the oil and gas industry without safety verve.
Engr. Sarki Auwalu, Director/CEO, DPR, said it had given marketers up to 28th February 2021 to ensure that such measures are put in place, adding that at the expiration of the deadline, the department moved to enforce the regulation but could not as most of the independent marketers were unable to fully comply.
Auwalu said “For tanker incidence, what are we doing? Recently we said every tanker must have safety verve because if there is tanker incidence it is the fuel that will tilt and come out and explode to cause fire. So now it is compulsory that every tanker must have a safety verve when it is filled up the fuel will not come out and you can not syphon fuel from the tank. The discharge point also has no verve you can only use lock.
“Almost all the major marketers tankers are fitted with safety verve. Now the big issue is the independent marketers. We gave them final date, that is 28th of February but when we started implementing it there was queue every where. You witnessed some queues in Lagos, Abuja at the end of February, it was because we started implementation of the safety verve. So when we realised they needed some more time, We looked at it that continuing with it may cause unnecessary scarcity of product, when the product is available. We have identify the source of the safety verve and have asked their unions to import it it for members. We brought together the Petrol Tankers Drivers Union and Road Transport Owners and said we all agreed three years ago that we will phase out tankers without safety verve.
“Now it is you independent marketers that have not fitted your tankers with safety verve, kindly comply. Some have really comply, say about 20% before February, right now because of the measure of bringing them together almost 47% compliance have been achieved. We have now facility to monitor, know the tanker, the products it takes whether it has a safety verve or not, we are tracking them. So we achieved full compliance, I can tell you that tanker incidence will greatly reduce even when it happens the product will no longer spill because we realise that it is the product spill that cause fire out breaks”.
DPR is not just a regulator it an opportunity house and business enabler saddled with the supervision and monitoring of all petroleum industry operations carried out under licenses and leases in Nigeria. It grants licences, permits and approvals and it is Nigerian Oil & Gas Industry Regulatory Agency, responsible for the administration of Petroleum laws and statutes as well as implementing policies on oil and gas activities in Nigeria.