There are indications that the Petroleum Equalization Fund (PEF) may have concluded plans to dissociate itself from any petroleum tank farm that fails to issue electronic Way Bills and receipts to petroleum marketers.
Shipping Position Daily gathered that PEF has slated this directive to take full effect by March 2015, even as the agency has raised alarm on the losses it incurred due to issuance of manual Way Bills and receipts.
There are indications that the Petroleum Equalization Fund (PEF) may have concluded plans to dissociate itself from any petroleum tank farm that fails to issue electronic Way Bills and receipts to petroleum marketers.
Shipping Position Daily gathered that PEF has slated this directive to take full effect by March 2015, even as the agency has raised alarm on the losses it incurred due to issuance of manual Way Bills and receipts.
The way bill is usually issued at the tank farms to marketers who then use it to make their bridging claims from PEF, but the agency has said that many of the marketers usually alter the manual Way Bills so suit their selfish interests.
Tank farm operators disclosed to our correspondent after a recent meeting with PEF that, the agency had gone round the depots in Lagos to warn that it will dissociate itself from any depot that is not fully automated by next year.
But tanker drivers told our correspondent last week that they are currently experiencing challenges with obtaining Way Bills and receipts from depots due to the automation.
Vice Chairman, ASCON Unit of Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) branch of NUPENG, Comrade Owolabi Jimoh in a chat with Shipping Position Daily, noted that the process is characterized by delays and that in such situation trucks are stuck inside the tank farms, thereby leading to congestion along the Oshodi-Apapa expressway.
Owolabi pointed out that in the bid to implement PEF directive, many depots have already gone electronic. He however lamented that the new process usually affect operations because officers mounting the system are not computer savvy.
Explaining the new procedure, Comrade Jimoh said that: "When marketers pay their bills now, it will be seen directly at the headquarters from where receipt and way bill will be issued electronically and printed at the depot. The truck will not leave the premises if the way bill is not issued"
"There used to be delay in the process because the man handling the machine was not computer savvy"
He attributed the delays mostly to server failures, occasioned by activities of telecommunication service providers.
"The server failure always causes the delay, just like when MTN is experiencing challenges in service, the system will not respond".
Also confirming the new process to our correspondent, another chieftain of NUPENG at the downstream sector; Comrade Omotayo Popoola, explained that PEF at a recent meeting had told the depot operators that the Federal Government was disturbed about the losses it was incurring due to insincerity of marketers.
"At a meeting that PEF had with us recently, they told us that any depot from next year March which do not upgrade from manual will not be reckoned with, it is the Federal Government that made it compulsory"
"Even the banks do not use manual again, it is equally affecting insurance companies because they were not able to issue receipts, it takes two weeks to get receipts"
"Whenever a new system is introduced in Nigeria, it usually takes time before we eventually catch up" Comrade Popoola told our correspondent.
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