The Nation Newspaper

Tag: DPR

  • DPR shuts 20 petrol stations in Imo

    The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) yesterday shut 20 petrol stations in Imo State for refusing to comply with the new fuel pump price of N87 per litre, as directed by the Minister of Petroleum last week.

    Zonal Controller of DPR Innocent Akpamagbo, who led other officials of the agency to monitor the level of compliance by petroleum marketers in Owerri, the Imo State capital, sealed off 20 filling stations still selling at the old price of N97.

    He said it became necessary to ensure that the marketers complied with the new pump price, threatening to revoke the licences of the shut petrol stations.

    Akpamagbo said the excuse by most of the marketers that they were still selling their old stock was untenable, insisting that the agency would ensure that marketers complied with the new price.

    He noted: “Whenever there is an increase in pump price, the marketers will immediately adjust their meters to reflect the new price. They will not wait to exhaust their old stock, as they are now claiming.

    “So, in this case, they must adjust their pump prices as directed by the Ministry of Petroleum. This is why we are here to ensure compliance.”

    Akpamagbo urged the public to report any station, which flouted the order, to the agency.

  • DPR closes down 10 petrol stations in Kwara

    DPR closes down 10 petrol stations in Kwara

    The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) yesterday closed down than 10 fuel stations in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital for allegedly not selling petroleum motor spirit (PMS) at N87 per litre.

    The Operations Controller of DPR, Amos Jokodola, who led members of the enforcement team of the department during the monitoring of petrol stations in the state capital, said the excuse given by the affected stations for failure to comply with the government’s directive was not acceptable.

    Jokodola said: “Our outing has been very challenging because two issues with the marketers and even with the majors. Some of the majors complained that their technicians have not arrived from their headquarters to effect the price reduction, which we considered not to be an acceptable excuse. Some stations that fall under that category, Oando, MRS and others have been sealed completely, and they will remain sealed until they reduce the pump price to N87 per litre as directed by the Federal Government of Nigeria.

    “The other challenge that we have with some independent marketers is that some got stock on Saturday, calculated at the old price. And they felt we should give them time to dispose those stocks before they reduce the price. We said no! The Federal Government’s directive is that effective from Monday morning, all filling stations across this nation should reduce the pump price from N97 to N87.”

  • DPR, SON to sanction erring gas plants

    DPR, SON to sanction erring gas plants

    TIME is up for erring Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) plants. The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and the Liquefied Petroleum Gas Association of Nigeria (LPGAN) have resolved to deal with plants not following gas rules.

    Also under scrutiny are cooking gas retailers, unauthorised importers and marketers of gas cylinders.

    DPR, SON and LPGAN officials  in separate interviews with The Nation, said they had started investigations into the activities of  operators nationwide to determine thier level of compliance with safety guidelines.

    Head, Gas Department, DPR, Antigha Ekaluo, said the department had made arrangements to get all the stakeholders in the LPG sub-sector involved.

    The agency, it said, is auditing all the licensed gas plants to know those that were complying with the rules. He said owners of plants who failed to operate in line with the statutory provisions provided for the sub-sector risked being sanctioned.

    Ekaluo, who spoke on the sideline of a stakeholders’ conference in Lagos, said part of the measures to rid the industry of quacks is the licensing of retail outlets.

    He said: “Our inspectors have been directed to ensure compliance. The DPR in the coming months shall commence facility audit of licensed plants nationwide to ensure compliance with statutory provisions on plant operations.”

    Many of the marketers, Ekaluo said, sell and store LPG without licences, and in the process, contravene the laws guiding the operators. He said DPR is putting a stop to the menace to promote safety and healthy environment.

    He directed all plants to ensure that resale outlets have valid licenses to be able to operate well, adding that the body has directed its officials to move against illegal operators.’’

    SON’s Head of Enforcement Bede Obayi said the agency had started what he described as ‘search and fit’ exercise to know people behind the operation of illegal LPG plants and check their excesses.

    He said the body has officials in the 36 states and the Federal Capital Authority (FCT), working to rid the country of sub-standard LPG cylinders, among other products.

    Obayi said the body relies on external sources of information to deal with illegal sellers and importers of gas cylinders.

    He said: “Apart from the fact that SON’s officials have been deployed to check the activities of illegal importers in the country, the agency relies on ‘informants’ to get information on the hideouts of perpetrators of such crimes. Informants have been of great help to us in this regard. We have informants in ports across the country, and they oblige us with information needed to tackle the issue.

    “When we get information that a container carrying gas cylinders is leaving the ports, we mobilise our men to intercept the container. Once we discover that the products lack neceesary details, we impound them immediately.”

    Obayi said SON has intercepted several containers carrying substandard gas cylinders, seized and taken them to designated warehouses from where they were taken to steel firms for grinding and conversion into other metal objects.

    “The importation of substandard gas cylinders is the handiwork of some operators. We have directed people to apply to the Director-General, SON, Dr. Joseph Odumodu, for approval to import gas cylinders. There are procedures for bringing gas cylinders into the country. People that meet the guidelines have no problem. Once you are not complying with the guidelines, we stop you from importing the product. We are on top of the game,” he said.

    According to him, when arrests are made by SON, suspects and their goods are usually handed over to the police for further investigation and prosecution.

    The President, Liquefied Petroleum Gas Association of Nigeria (LPGAN), Dapo Adesina, said the association has  directed his members to report anybody contravening procedures for engaging in the business to the nearest police station.

    Adesina said there are 200 gas filling plant owners and 4,000 retailers in the country, noting that they have been certified to do the business. He added that the group’s duty is to pass safety information and other relevant data for growth to the operators.

    He said illegal operators of gas filling plants are not members of the association, and are treated as such.

    According to him, the power to approve LPG operators lies with the DPR, noting that the body regulates the sub-sector.

    Adesina said his members were aware of the safety procedures, and ready to comply.

    ”One way of tackling the menace is to educate members on the dangers of operating gas plants or selling the product without approval.

    “Through training, we enable our members to know gas compositions, how volatile the product is, and how to prevent explosion. The training is ongoing because we want to get to a level that the activities of fake operators are curtailed,’’ he said.

    There had been cases of gas explosions in some parts of the country that had resulted to fatalities. There was a gas explosion in Akure, the Ondo State capital a few weeks ago. The incident, which occurred at a gas station, drew the ire of stakeholders, including the state government, owners of LPG plants, among others. The group called on the Federal Government to ban any operator that is disobeying the rules.

  • NAPE urges DPR, minister on fluid metering, accounting

    NAPE urges DPR, minister on fluid metering, accounting

    Explorationists have urged the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) and the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, to address back allocation of Basic Sediments and Water (BSW) during crude oil production reconciliation and imposition of disproportionate volume of crude by some facility owners on indigenous operators.

    Independent oil firms, especially indigenous companies that use other firms’ pipelines and facilities to convey their crude oil from point of production to the terminals, have been complaining of losing volumes of oil as what they get at the terminal point is substantially lower.

    The Director, DPR, Mr. George Osahon, pledged to ensure that measures would be adopted to address these issues, when he received a communiqué on behalf of the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison- Madueke. The communiqué was generated from a workshop on “Fluid Metering and Accounting in the Oil & Gas Industry” organised by the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE).

    The workshop and communiqué were steps being taken by NAPE to address the unresolved issues of inaccurate metering raised by the Nigerian Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (NEITI).

    “You will recall that there have been a lot of issues regarding NEITI and metering and about what we need to do, some of these issues emanate from here and we are paying a lot of attention to them,” NAPE President, Mrs. Adedoja Ojelabi said while handing over the document to the DPR chief.

    Osahon said: “The document (communiqué) will come back for us to study and advise again on what we should do, how we should do it, and when we should do it. We will turn that into a plan of action of what we will do so that at least those companies that are suffering now especially those that are co- utilising facilities will have a new lease of life.”

    NAPE President, Adedoja Ojelabi, stated that the workshop on fluid accounting and metering was NAPE’s demonstration of its commitment to resolving issues that impact negatively on the oil and gas industry. She added that one of the ways NAPE does this is by providing platforms like the special management workshop.

    She said: “The production of the document has come out from a lot of work, meetings and the consensus reached by stakeholders. We hope that the document will be useful to the DPR, the government, the oil and gas industry and particularly Independents. We also see that industry is likely to witness more and more of such issues but we hope we can nip them in the bud before they become major irritations in the industry.”

    Also present at the event was NAPE’s President-elect, Mr. Chikwendu Edoziem, who expressed optimism that the communiqué, when adopted, will bring lasting solutions to the issues of fluid metering and accounting in the oil and gas industry.

  • Wetin DPR dey do sef?

    For the uninitiated, DPR stands for the Department of Petroleum Resources. It is one of the numerous units, departments and subsidiaries of Nigeria’s shambolic petroleum sector that has become a shadow of itself.

    To make a bad case worse and in the awkward and cunning manner of Nigeria’s oil bureaucrats, DPR is deliberately a misnomer. Why is the chief monitoring arm of Nigeria’s oil sector tagged Department of Petroleum Resources instead of Department of Petroleum Monitoring?

    Well DPR may be ambiguous but its name is not really its bane; this most important department in Nigeria’s oil mix has simply gone south, the way of most government businesses in Nigeria. In its heyday and in our saner era, DPR was an institution dreaded and revered at once in the industry. It was always headed by Nigerians of steel and professional integrity and when they spoke, Nigerians listened. Today, Hardball confesses that he does not know the head of DPR and whoever he might be must be happier being Mr. Anonymous.

     Those days, we were comforted knowing that there was a DPR watching over our oil assets. Today, you can’t vouch there is DPR and you never know what it does. In fact, Nigeria’s oil and gas industry could be said to have stumbled fatally upon the demise of DPR. Today, Nigerians hear about DPR when they announce that they have shut one hapless fuel station or the other. Today, DPR can safely be called the Department of Dispensing Stations. Sadly, in spite of its inane exertions pursuing poor petrol attendants, to find a ‘true’ petrol dispenser in Nigeria is akin to finding a virgin in a maternity ward.

    The most telling indictment of the DPR today is the refrain across the country that Nigeria does not know the quantity of crude oil it produces. Everyone says that the DPR does not have modern or adequate meters to carry out that basic but albeit, crucial task. Nigeria’s oil industry is in such state that we are in the age of brazen oil theft. Nigeria is today like a banana republic that cannot guard and monitor its strategic asset; brigands from all over the world simply converge on the Niger Delta to ‘take’ oil. That is the impression out there. This indictment has gone on for many years but DPR never deemed it fit to respond; prove or disprove this ‘street talk’. Apparently, it could not be bothered and in the manner of most government agencies, it does not owe Nigerians any explanation about its operations; in fact, the less Nigerians know about our oil(y) business, the better it seems for DPR.

    Hardball was, however, jolted when it came out that DPR is actually worried about misconceptions of its functions by the public. In media reports, we learnt that DPR held a stakeholders’ parley in Lagos where it was revealed that it faced challenges bordering on under-staffing, under-funding, lack of working tools and public misconception of its functions, to name a few. In spite of this, DPR insists, it remains committed to its key functions of monitoring all petroleum industry operations or activities being carried out under licences and leases in the country… Well, now that Hardball is wiser, it is safe to reverse oneself and ask: wetin DPR no dey do sef, abi?

  • Wetin DPR dey do sef?

    For the uninitiated, DPR stands for the Department of Petroleum Resources. It is one of the numerous units, departments and subsidiaries of Nigeria’s shambolic petroleum sector that has become a shadow of itself.

    To make a bad case worse and in the awkward and cunning manner of Nigeria’s oil bureaucrats, DPR is deliberately a misnomer. Why is the chief monitoring arm of Nigeria’s oil sector tagged Department of Petroleum Resources instead of Department of Petroleum Monitoring?

    Well DPR may be ambiguous but its name is not really its bane; this most important department in Nigeria’s oil mix has simply gone south, the way of most government businesses in Nigeria. In its heyday and in our saner era, DPR was an institution dreaded and revered at once in the industry. It was always headed by Nigerian of steel and professional integrity and when they spoke, Nigerians listened. Today, Hardball confesses that he does not know the head of DPR and whoever he might be must be happier being Mr. Anonymous.

    Those days we were comforted knowing that there was a DPR watching over our oil assets. Today, you can’t vouch there is DPR and you never know what it does. In fact, Nigeria’s oil and gas industry could be said to have stumbled fatally upon the demise of DPR. Today, Nigerians hear about DPR when they announce that they have shut one hapless fuel station or the other. Today, DPR can safely be called the Department of Dispensing Stations. Sadly, in spite of its inane exertions pursuing poor petrol attendants, to find a ‘true’ petrol dispenser in Nigeria is akin to finding a virgin in a maternity ward.

    The most telling indictment of the DPR today is the refrain across the country that Nigeria does not know the quantity of crude oil she produces. Everyone says that the DPR does not have modern or adequate meters to carry out that basic but albeit, crucial task. Nigeria’s oil industry is in such state that we are in the age of brazen oil theft. Nigeria is today like a banana republic that cannot guard and monitor her strategic asset; brigands from all over the world simply converge on the Niger Delta to ‘take’ oil. That is the impression out there. This indictment has gone on for many years but DPR never deemed it fit to respond; prove or disprove this ‘street talk’. Apparently, it could not be bothered and in the manner of most government agencies, it does not owe Nigerians any explanation about its operations; in fact, the less Nigerians know about our oil(y) business, the better it seems for DPR.

    Hardball was, however, jolted last week when it came out that DPR is actually worried about misconceptions of its functions by the public. In media reports, we learnt that DPR held a stakeholders’ parley in Lagos where it was revealed that it faced challenges bordering on under-staffing, under-funding, lack of working tools and public misconception of its functions, to name a few. In spite of this, DPR insists, it remains committed to its key functions of monitoring all petroleum industry operations or activities being carried out under licences and leases in the country… well now that Hardball is wiser, it is safe to reverse oneself and ask: wetin DPR no dey do sef, abi?

  • DPR urged to sanction erring marketers

    DPR urged to sanction erring marketers

    The Petroleum and Natural Gas  Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has urged the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) to stop erring marketers who  hoard petroleum products.

    The Public Relations Officer, Seyi Gambo, said some marketers were either hoarding or diverting petrol to cause artificial scarcity, noting that the measure sometimes resulted in long queues at filling stations.

    He said regulatory bodies such as DPR,  saddled with inspect stations, should sanction erring marketers.

    “There is need for prompt and adequate monitoring of filling stations by the management of DPR to check abuses in petroleum distribution processes by some marketers.

    “The queues and artificial scarcity currently experienced at filling stations are caused by some dubious marketers who want to make money at all costs by hoarding the product.

    “Many filling stations are still selling petrol for between N110 and N120. This is against the normal pump price of N97 approved by the government.

    “DPR should re-strategise their operational monitoring of stations to curb abuse of power by these erring marketers,” he said.

    Gambo said to ensure adequate flow of petrol in the country, the government allocated the importation of petrol for the second quarter of the year.

    “The Federal Government has approved the release of the import allocations for the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and the private Oil Marketing and Trading (OM &T) companies for the second quarter of the year.”

     

    “With the arrangement, I don’t see reason why there should be queues or scarcity of petroleum products in the country,” Gambo added.

    He said if the government had fulfilled its obligation to the relevant agencies, they would make it their duty to bring to book any marketers that sold above the stipulated pump price.

  • Kano DPR blames fuel scarcity on non-attainment of efficiency level

    The Kano branch of Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Thursday in Kano blamed lingering fuel scarcity in the commercial city of Kano on non-attainment of efficiency level.

    At the end of an inspection tour of not less than eight filling stations, led by the Controller of Operations of the DPR, Alhaji Suleiman Sayyad Abubakar, the Controller maintained that for the state to achieve stable supply of petroleum products, it requires  the supply of between 80  and 100 trucks daily.

    However, Sayyad lamented that for now, only half of this supply of petroleum products is currently been supplied but expressed optimism that the scarcity would end within the week.

    According to him, the essence of the inspection tour is to ensure that products delivered to major and independent petroleum marketers get to the end users and at the recommended fuel pump price.

    Also, Sayyad explained that DPR embarked on the tour of filling stations in order to dispel insinuations that some petroleum marketers are hoarding the products and sell to motorists above the approved pump price.

    After the tour, Sayyad maintained that the scarcity is not artificial or due to hoarding but blamed on non-attainment of efficiency level.

    During the inspection tour, the Controller noted that some stations were rowdy, while some others were not, adding that some of the filling stations that had the product were selling to motorists but he however expressed the hope that the scarcity would soon subside

  • DPR strategises on industry stability

    The Management of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) over the weekend met in Abuja to strategise on measures that would ensure stability of the oil sector.

    A source at the meeting told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja that the session attended by top management staff of the agency across the country deliberated on DPR’s operations in 2014.

    The source said that issues at the meeting were mainly on ways to improve on the activities of the agency to meet the expectation of Nigerians.

    The agency, known among close watchers of oil sector and the “police of oil industry”, according to the source, was worried over the resurgence of queues of vehicles at the fuel stations in parts of the country.

    “The meeting deliberated extensively on how to ensure that there are no hiccups in petroleum products distribution network and to check activities of unscrupulous marketers,” it said.

    While expressing delight at the way the agency addressed the challenge through clamp down on filling stations to ensure that they did not sell above pump price, the source said “we did so because we knew they all had products”.

    The source also disclosed the issue of pipeline vandalism, which almost paralysed operations of the sector in the South-South and South-West areas recently, was discussed.

  • Reps summon minister, Shell over Bonga oil spill

    … DPR, NIMASA, NOSDRA to meet lawmakers

    The House of Representatives has summoned the Minister of Environment, the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) and Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) over compensation issues following the December 20, 2011 Bonga oil spill.

    The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) were also invited among others.

    The minister and others were expected to explain the effects of chemical dispersants used by Shell to disperse the said oil spillage on the sea.

    What is due to the communities as compensation would also be discussed.

    The affected communities alleged that the dispersant led to disruption of their fishing activities and other sources of livelihood, saying the oil company has not been forthcoming.

    The communities are spread between Warri North, Warri South West and Burutu Local Government Councils of Delta State as well as Ekeremor, Southern Ijaw and Brass Local Government Councils of Bayelsa State.