Adaobi Rhema Oguejiofor
The Federal Government has promised that it would shutdown the businesses of unlicensed petroleum product dealers from the month of June 2023, stating that they would not be allowed to load products without license.
The notice was issued by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) at a stakeholder engagement on gas utilisation in Nigeria. The engagement was aimed at enlightening operators on the need to urgently obtain the necessary petroleum storage license and bring about the transition from white products to gas.
The Executive Director of Distribution Systems, Storage and Retailing Infrastructure for NMDPRA, Ogbugo Ukoha, stated that from June 1st, all operators without licenses will not be allowed to load, adding that there are still nine days left for operators to do the right thing and comply because the Authority would prefer that people obey so that it doesn’t have adverse effects on their businesses.
In his own words, “as the scripture says, obedience is better than sacrifice. If there is no compliance, we can assure you that from June 1st, there will be no license, no loading. Any depot or any licensed operator who supplies petroleum products to an unlicensed facility, we will shut down that operator,”
Ukoha made a special appeal that those who want to handle petroleum products above 50 litres storage should obtain a licence as it is very necessary. He said that the licensing procedure includes going through what operators equipment are, the distance, hazards, procedures and everything else.
The Executive Director encouraged the operators to also take advantage of the evolving opportunities in the gas value chain, by positioning their energy needs to embrace gas derivatives, which he listed to include Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), Autogas, propane and butane.
According to him, investing in these gas derivatives would help shield against future global uncertainties that could arise from the supply of petrol and diesel. He also expressed that the Authority’s 12 gazetted regulations had defined the licensing regime, the procedures and standards for handling petroleum products, which when breached posed high risks.