Even as it continues to investigate and inspect illegal operations at depot facilities and fuel stations all over the country, the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) says it is set to commence inspection of corporate organizations that are making use of fuel.
The proposed safety inspection which is an extension of DPR safety crusade is designed to ascertain that these organizations improve their level of compliance to minimum safety measures in the storage of fuel.
A source within the department who pleaded anonymity hinted Shipping Position Weekly that this exercise falls within the jurisdiction of the department and that such organizations are hereby required to get their licenses from the DPR office.
According to him “organizations under the searchlight will include banks, companies and hotels, it is now compulsory for them to go to the DPR office and receive their license which will now show that they have met the minimum safety requirements”
Speaking further, he explained that “some companies have been found to store petroleum products in large quantities within their premises and in the past you will find out that majority of the fire outbreaks we have had in companies, hotels and so on are as a result of this action and non- compliance with safety measures”.
The department says that during its routine inspection of depot and filling stations in the country, it was discovered that some companies store large quantities of products in their tanks and to do this, they need a permit and any organization which refuses will be promptly shut down after which any faulty facilities will be evacuated from the premises.
Our source also explained that since the law establishing the DPR does not give it the powers to arrest and punish offenders it can however seal off the premises of any offender and hand them over to the police.
Shipping Position Weekly findings revealed that the DPR safety crusade have so far resulted into clamping down on about four depots and three filling stations in Lagos while in the same vein it has shut down about two filling stations in Port Harcourt for under dispensing fuel.
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