Daily Independent (Lagos)
Bassey Udo
3 December 2008
The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) on Wednesday announced measures taken to curb diversion and adulteration of petroleum products in the country.
Deputy Director, Head, Gas Division, Billy Agha, said at the third Quarterly media briefing of the oil & gas monitoring, regulatory and enforcement agency in Lagos that defaulters of these measures are to henceforth face stiff sanctions.
Agha, who represented the DPR Director, Aliyu Sabonbirni, said the measures, which took effect last week, include that samples of automotive gas oil (AGO), or (diesel), and dual purpose kerosene (DPK) as well as household kerosene (HHK) must be taken from the points of sale for analysis to ensure compliance to acceptable specification.
Other measures announced by the agency to check adulteration includes that numbered and coded seals are to be fitted in distribution trucks, while seals are to be installed on the latches and at discharge points of tanker trucks.
The code numbers, he explained, shall be incorporated in the waybills and duly signed by depot management, marketers and DPR representative, pointing out that product shall not be accepted at discharge destination if seal is broken.
"Any station identified to be involved in adulteration will be sealed with media disclosure of its proprietor and location," he warned, adding that offending station would be made to withdraw products from market and process for acceptable quality, while all trucks leaving the depot with product are to carry stamped certificates of quality.
The director disclosed that all depots have been mandated to keep daily records of products sales, receipts and liftings, indicating name of marketer, type of product, date of loading, truck number and destination, which would be audited periodically by DPR, while depots are not to give products to companies, premises and stations without proper license.
During the period, the director, who said the Federal Government effort to promote the growth of the domestic gas market has received a major boost in recent times, disclosed that the DPR received at least four applications for permits to construct liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) plant in the country to resolve the problem of storage and distribution of cooking gas in the country.
Other applications received include 27 for Permit to Survey (PTS) as against 9 issued; Oil Pipeline Licence (OPLL) application received (14) as against 12 issued, while 324 petrol stations and distribution outlets were sealed for various offences ranging from diversion, under dispensing to selling above pump price, among other malpractices, out of the 3,483 inspected nationwide during the period.
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