Amidst several calls by Nigerians for the relocation of petroleum tank farms from residential and business areas, there are indications that the calls may be falling on deaf ears as five new petroleum storage facilities have now sprang up around Ijegun area of Satelite Town in Lagos.
Shipping Position Daily correspondent who visited the site last week noted that three out of the new depots have already commenced operations while two of them are yet to be completed.
Amidst several calls by Nigerians for the relocation of petroleum tank farms from residential and business areas, there are indications that the calls may be falling on deaf ears as five new petroleum storage facilities have now sprang up around Ijegun area of Satelite Town in Lagos.
Shipping Position Daily correspondent who visited the site last week noted that three out of the new depots have already commenced operations while two of them are yet to be completed.
Some of the tank farms which our correspondent noted were already in operation includes: A.A Rano Nigeria Limited, Emadeb Energy and Star Energy.
The five depots were an addition to First Deepwater Logistics depot which already exists in the area.
However, residents of the area have kicked against the continual construction of petroleum storage facilities around the area. Some of them that spoke with our correspondent complained that they are currently living in trepidation and that they have been subjected to unending traffic situation.
A reliable source at the First Deepwater depot in a chat with Shipping Position Daily confirmed that there is a competition now around the depot area.
According to our source, government cannot stop further construction of petroleum tank farms in Lagos. "The only thing they can do is to charge DPR and other departments to uphold the safety standard, safety should be the watchword" he said.
Some of the tanker drivers around the tank farm told our correspondent that loading of trucks at the depots is always done at snails speed and that this is the main cause of the traffic congestion sometimes experienced at the axis.
"If you look around, you will see a long queue of trucks around here, this is because loading of trucks at the depot is poor, they only load five trucks in a day, and they need to improve", one of them said.
It will be recalled that the Executive Secretary, Jetty Owners and Petroleum Tank Farm Owners Association of Nigeria (JEPTFON) Mr. Enoch Kanawa, said recently that it would be difficult to relocate the tank farms from the port city of Apapa.
Kanawa said in Lagos recently that recent calls by some Nigerians for relocation of tank farms were uncalled for. According to him, globally, tank farms are located close to the ports because of their closeness to the sea.
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