DPR warns LPG operators to adhere to SOP or lose licences
Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has warned operators of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) to adhere strictly to the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) of the regulatory agency or lose their licences.
Asuquo Antai, operations controller, DPR, Warri zonal office, gave this warning at the weekend at the “2018 DPR/LPG Marketers Stakeholders Forum” in Warri, Delta State.
The theme of the forum was: “Stakeholders Relationship Building and Management: Promoting a Safe and Sustainable Utilisation of LPG.”
Antai stressed that all licences of LPG operators without certified SOP shall henceforth be rejected by the regulatory agency.
Antai, however, assured the LPG operators of the regulatory agency’s commitment to engaging all stakeholders with a view to promoting the efficiency and security of supply of the product in the country.
Antai, who was represented by Ogbe Nicholas of the DPR, also appealed to the Federal Government to improve awareness on the use of LPG to boost its consumption in line with its aspirations.
He said a lot of people do not use the cooking fuel (LPG) because of the fear of the high risk associated with its usage.
It is easier and safer to harbour gas than electricity, which virtually about 80 percent of Nigerians are comfortable with, he said.
The DPR controller said the theme was chosen in line with the Federal Government aspiration to grow LPG investment and gas domestication in the country.
“As a domestic cooking fuel, LPG presents valuable opportunity to combating climate change, reduced deforestation and improved community health, economy and livelihood.
“LPG has a relatively low emission when compared to other cooking means like kerosene, firewood and others,” he said.
He noted that despite the huge natural gas reserved in the country, and the various interventions by the Federal Government in the LPG sector, the use of cooking gas had not been fully realised.
“Therefore, every stakeholder, producers, depot owners, operators and retailers have become very important to achieving the government aspiration of growing the product usage which will eventually translate into growing business.
“In this regard, growing the LPG business will result in job creation, economic stability and growth,” he said.
Also speaking, Gabriel Ilere, managing director, PNG Gas, said Nigeria ranked ninth gas producing nations in the world but still import LPG, and urged DPR to sanitise the LPG business to entrench professionalism and ensure those who do not have passion for business do not invest in it.
Some of the stakeholders called for the removal of bottleneck in licence renewal, and also urged government to create the enabling environment to encourage the ease of doing business.