·As DPR deploys inventory tool to check diversion, issues December deadline
By Teddy Nwanunobi
No less than 27,300 filling stations are to lose their operating licences from the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), after the Department has set a December deadline for all 33,000 filling stations that are registered on its network to register on its Downstream Remote Monitoring Systems (DRMS), as a requirement for licence renewal.
The above is the Department’s efforts towards curbing diversion of petrol, as petroleum subsidy costs heavily weigh down the Federal Government’s interventions due to rising consumption of the premium motor spirit (PMS) occasioned by smuggling and sharp practices in the downstream sector.
Valuechain reports that the DRMS, also known as e-Station, is an inventory and regulatory tool that tracks product levels across retail outlets and depots.
The system also tracks the movement of products from depots to retail outlets, using a USSD code *7117#.
Speaking at a critical stakeholders’ engagement, which was attended by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Petroleum Equalisation Fund (PEF), Petroleum Products Pricing and Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) among others, in Lagos State, on Thursday, the Director/CEO of the DPR, Engr. Sariki Auwalu, disclosed that only 6,700 stations have, so far, complied with the registration.
Auwalu, who hinted that the DPR has commenced capturing all licensed filling stations into their system to enable it track lifting and disposal of products to ensure they are monitored, therefore, warned that the remaining outlets that were yet to be captured will have their licenses withdrawn by December this year.
“No filling station licence renewal will be done. We have already told them that every filling station must key into the DRMS. We are migrating every filling station into the DRMS.
“So far, only 6,700 stations have been registered, while the remaining 26,300 have till December, this year, to get on the network. It is now compulsory for all filling stations to be registered on our systems,” Auwalu warned.
Auwalu further warned that any filling station that fails to key into the platform will not be allowed to load at the depots.
He expressed confidence that the DRMS would bring sanity to the downstream sector of the oil and gas industry, adding that the move would also go a long way to complement the efforts of sister agencies in their bid to regulate the industry.
“We have been able to capture so many diversions, check overloading, under-dispensing, and other illegal practices of operators because, with DRMS, we can track all the activities of these operators on our platform,” he added.
Explaining the rationale of the engagement, Auwalu noted that the increasing diversion of petroleum products was becoming worrisome.
He pointed out that Nigeria was losing so much, and feeding her neighbours through illegal diversions.
To this end the DPR, he said, had to come up with a home grown technology to track genuine outlets, by assigning them unique numbers to make it difficult to divert products or to under dispense.
He, therefore, urged those operating illegally to present their facilities for capturing, as going forward only those captured by the system can lift petrol from depots.
In his response, the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdulrasheed Bawa, said the stakeholders’ meeting was to strengthen the relationship with DPR for transparency and accountability in the oil and gas sector, pointing out the need to ensure the efficient management of the nation’s hydrocarbon resources.
“We need to engage with stakeholders, because this industry is the mainstay of the national economy, and we are proud to protect the resources,” Bawa, who was represented by the Director of Operations, EFCC, Abdulkarim Chukkol, said.
Bawa, who demanded the real time report from the platform for easy tracking of marketers, added that, as an agency with the mandate to track economic saboteurs, it was important for all stakeholders to work in synergy to deal with the scourge.
On his part, the Executive Secretary of the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulation Agency (PPPRA), Abdulkadir Saidu Umar, said that the operators and regulatory agencies must use the partnership as a veritable tool to achieve the mandate of the Federal Government to drive gas development.
Umar, who appreciated the DPR for engaging other stakeholders in the effort to rid the country of petrol diversion, called for closer monitoring to ensure unproductive stations that still hold licenses are not used to procure products and divert the same.
Also speaking, the Executive Secretary of the Petroleum Equalisation Fund (PEF), Ahmed Bobboi, demanded for technical collaboration between stakeholders for proper coordination.