The Nation Newspaper

Tag: DPR

  • DPR slams CDHR for alleged impersonation

    DPR slams CDHR for alleged impersonation

    The Zonal Office of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) in Warri has alerted the public to the ‘illegal activities’ of unauthorised organisations and individuals, going round fuel stations in Warri to execute its functions.

    DPR’s Zonal Operations Controller in Warri Antai Asuquo spoke while reacting to a reported ‘enforcement operation’ carried out on Monday by the Delta State Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR) in Warri.

    CDHR, led by its state Chairman, Kehinde Taiga, reportedly picketed petrol stations on Okumagba Avenue, Warri, on Monday, to prevent them from selling above the approved pump price of N145.

    But Antai described CDHR’s action as illegal.

    He vowed to file a complaint to appropriate authorities, saying DPR officials were on the field to ensure that marketers complied with the approved pump price.

    “We did not authorise CDHR to conduct surveillance on our behalf. Our officers are always on the field to enforce compliance to the government approved pump price of N145 per litre. The public should note that the committee was on an illegal operation, we did not send them, neither did they act on our behalf, and we will report the matter to the appropriate authority.

    “As I promised, we will ensure there is compliance to the approved pump price. We deploy two monitoring teams every working day in the field to ensure we cover local governments.

    “We will visit petrol stations to make sure they dispense at the approved pump price of N145 per litre,” Antai said.

    He said the agency had sealed off over 150 erring fuel stations since the scarcity resurfaced last month, adding that it would enforce compliance.

    Taiga said the committee embarked on the exercise because “DPR has failed in its responsibility.

    “We call it ‘Operation sell at N145 or quit business’. We visited three petrol stations, dispensed fuel for over an hour in each of the stations to people at N145. Some even at no cost to persons.”

  • End petrol scarcity queues in 7 days – Senate tells NNPC

    End petrol scarcity queues in 7 days – Senate tells NNPC

     The Senate on Thursday urged the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to, within seven days, end lingering scarcity of petrol and clear queues in filling stations across the country.

    This followed a unanimous adoption of report of the Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream) on the fuel crisis in the country, at plenary.

    In the report presented by its Chairman, Sen. Kabiru Marafa, the committee recommended that NNPC should be given seven days ultimatum to end long queues in fuel stations in the country.

    The committee stressed the need for security agencies to ensure effective border patrol to check diversion of petroleum products to neighbouring countries.

    It also recommended that the Department for Petroleum Resources (DPR) should double efforts to enforce compliance with government’s regulated pump price of petroleum products.

    “During our recess, the committee moved around some cities, including Abuja and Lagos, to ascertain the situation on ground.

    “When we thought that we were making progress, we just realised that the queues were resurfacing in fuel stations.

    “We also engaged with the NNPC and other stakeholders and we were informed that there were challenges of supply coupled with massive smuggling of petroleum products to neighbouring countries for higher prices.

    “Also, there is the problem of marketers selling above approved pump price,’’ the report stated.
    In his remarks, President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki, urged NNPC to ensure compliance with the resolution and endeavour to end the queues within seven days.

    NAN

  • DPR issues 13 licences for modular refineries

    DPR issues 13 licences for modular refineries

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) yesterday said out of the  35 interests that were indicated in modular refineries, the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) had  issued licences to 13.

    The Group Managing Director, Dr. Maikanti Baru, who made this disclosure, said he had already been invited to the ground breaking of the first one in Bayelsa State in February.

    He said: “So far, about 35 interests for modular refineries have been declared and the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has issued licences to about 13 and I have been invited to the ground breaking ceremony of the first one in Bayelsa State next month.”

    Baru also said NNPC was targeting to forward the agreements for the selection of financials for the Port Harcourt Refining Company Limited (PHRC), Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company Limited (WRPC) and the Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company Limited to the Corporation’s board during its meeting this month.

    The NNPC’s boss, according to a statement issued by the Corporation’s Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu, yesterday, said Baru disclosed this while briefing members of staff of the Corporation on the fuel supply situation in the country during a town hall meeting in Abuja.

    He added that once NNPC secures the funding, it would commence the rehabilitation of the refineries.

    The target, he said, was to achieve 90 per cent capacity utilisation before the end of next year.

    He said: “We are pushing towards the final selection of our financiers and we expect that when that is done, we’ll get the agreements and present them to our board, which is meeting  this month, to secure their endorsement. And once we have the funding, we would start the rehabilitation of the refineries towards a 90 per cent capacity utilization per stream day before the end of 2019.”

    NNPC said the development was to uphold  the promise to boosting petroleum products supply and distribution in the country

    He described the procedure for electing the financiers as painstaking, noting, however, that it was necessary to enable a desired closure on the subject.

    Baru said the Corporation was also encouraging new refining capacities to come on board, adding that there were two consortia that have indicated interest to co-locate refineries in Warri and Port Harcourt.

    He said NNPC would provide whatever utility services the companies might require, such as power, processed steam, water and land, stressing that the corporation has agreed in broad terms on areas of collaboration to fast track the development.

    “Am happy to inform you that progress has been made, up to the level of an acceptable detailed engineering design and we are in the process of mobilizing some of the refineries already identified for installation in Nigeria,” the GMD informed.

    He said the Kaduna State Government was also championing a proposal to co-locate another refinery close to the KRPC with the intent of sourcing Nigerien crude for its operations.

    Baru stated that other Greenfield refineries were to be brought on board soon in Kano and Kaduna, stressing while on board, they would source their crude from Niger Republic.

    He said the designs for the proposed refineries in Kano and Kaduna were ready, saying their construction would commence this year.

    The NNPC GMD revealed that the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and the corporation were collaborating to encourage the establishment of modular refineries in the Niger Delta area to encourage job creation.

    He noted that the Federal Government and the NNPC would continue to encourage private sector initiatives that would bring in competition in the petroleum products supply and distribution network so as to guarantee energy sufficiency for the country.

  • N145 per litre: Why we’re not dealing erring stations – DPR

    N145 per litre: Why we’re not dealing erring stations – DPR

    The Department of Petroleum Resources ( DPR ) has explained why it was reluctant to shut filling stations selling premium motor spirit (PMS) to the public above the N145 per litre government approved price.

    The DPR during a surveillance operation carried it carried out yesterday across the Kogi State capital, Lokoja, explained that sealing erring filling stations at this particular time will compound the situation and add to the hardship of Nigerians.

    Despite the hardship that the prolonged fuel scarcity has brought to bear on residents, many lament that where available, they buy at exorbitant price.

    The DPR Controller in the state, Engr. Amos Jokodola who led his team on a surveillance operation to filling stations across the state, said some of the marketers try to shortchange the public through different means, including selling above the N145 pump price, hoarding or tampering with the dispensing machine, to undercut customers.

    He warned that the new rules by the DPR permits for the shutting of erring filling stations for upwards six months, aside other sanctions that can be imposed.

    His words: “Some are selling above pump price, but we are making them sell at official rates. It will be unreasonable to seal a station that has fuel, if the flout the official price limit, but we find a way to sanction them afterwards.

    “We penalize them for infractions; selling above pump price and under dispensing…We have standard fine for infringements, but there is a limit to which we can accommodate. We seal your station for up to six months in cases, to serve as deterrent to others. In one of the stations, the deviation (underdispensing) read 10.3 litre, while the tolerable limit is less than half a litre.

    “Unlike in the past, government has become more stringent with its sanctions, imposing fines ranging between N100,000 for infringement such as underdispensing and outright closure in other instances.
    Our aim is to protect the public and not to compromise”.

    At one of the filling stations along the Nataco junction, where fuel sold at N185 before the team arrived to enforce the N145 official price, one of the fortunate customers, Mrs Sarah Obaje, who spoke with The Nation, complained bitterly about the fuel situation in the state.

    “It is biting on everyone of us; it has not been easy… salary has not been regular, and then for us to start experiencing fuel hike, is unbecoming. Most of the fuel stations are selling at N200 per litre, so when I heard this one was selling at N180, I rushed down quickly. I am a widow and things are not easy”, she lamented.

    Jokodola however assures that the situation will ease, saying, “What we want to do is to intensify our surveillance, both daytime and night, to ensure that the marketers are not hoarding, selling above official pump price or perpetrating other forms if cheating.

    “DPR will continue to do these until the whole process is sanitized. Our duty is to protect the interest of Nigerians”.

  • Fuel price hike: Imo youths accuse DPR of conspiracy

    Fuel price hike: Imo youths accuse DPR of conspiracy

    For alleged connivance with petroleum marketers, the Imo State Chapter of the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN) and Niger Delta Youth Forum (NDYF) have called for the immediate sack of the Southeast Zonal Controller of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR).

    The youths, who barricaded the entrance to the DPR office, said DPR’s failure to reduce the price of fuel has brought untold hardship on the people.

    The Chairman, Mr. Isidore Chukwuemeka, alleged that the continued sale of fuel at N250 was a conspiracy between the marketers and the DPR.

    He lamented that no petrol station has been sanctioned or shut though they were selling above the recommended pump price.

    President of NDYF Ezekwesili Nwauwa said DPR has done nothing to regulate fuel prices.

    He lamented that this had caused untold hardship to the people as the hike led to increase in fares.

    But the Southeast Zonal Controller of DPR, Mr Peter Ijeh, said the agency has been actively trying to reduce the price of fuel.

    “Imo State DPR is doing well, and people outside the state have called to hail our efforts. We go out and make rounds of the fuel stations in the state, and those that refuse to comply are shut.

    “There is no way we can collaborate with marketers to sell above the recommended pump price, it is not possible,” he said.

    Ijeh, however, said marketers change their prices when DPR officials must have left their stations.

    Petrol stations in Owerri, the state capital, have continued to sell for as much as N250 per litre, and there has not been any report of sanction on the erring fuel stations by the DPR.

  • DPR to sanction four filling stations in Zamfara

    DPR to sanction four filling stations in Zamfara

    The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) in Zamfara, said on Saturday it has received a directive from the Senate Committee on Petroleum (Downstream) to sanction four filling stations, should they continue to hoard petrol.

    The DPR Operations Controller in the state, Mallam Ango Haruna, stated this in Gusau.

    The Senate committee led by its chairman, Kabiru Marafa, had visited the state last week to monitor fuel situation in the state.

    The committee observed that some of the filling stations were selling petrol above government approved price, while some were hoarding and diverting the product.

    Haruna said the committee directed the DPR to sanction the four filling stations found selling the product above government approved price as well as hoarding it.

    “Yes, we have the records of the affected filling stations. We will sanction them as directed by the committee at the appropriate time.

    “You know, we were given directive from the Ministry of Petroleum Resources that we should not seal off any filling station at this critical time, and in fact, even the committee chairman reminded me of this directive during the visit.

    “What we do when we find any filling station selling above government price or hoarding is to force them to revert and make sure that they sell fuel to the public at N145, as approved by the government,” he said.

    He described the visit of the committee as a patriotic step to alleviate the sufferings of the masses.

    NAN

  • DPR seals four filling stations in Owo

    DPR seals four filling stations in Owo

    The Department of Petroleum Resources ( DPR ) says it has sealed four filling stations in Owo Local Government Area of Ondo State for hoarding fuel and selling above pump price.

    The Controller of DPR in-charge of Ondo and Ekiti,  Mr Adewale Oseni, told newsmen on Friday in Owo that the operation was carried out late Thursday night and Friday morning.

    “We also auctioned the product to motorists before the stations were sealed off.

    “The operators of the stations still have to pay the imposed fine to deter them from selling above the pump price.

    “We hope it will send some lessons to erring marketers,” he said.

    Also Read: DPR, Oyo govt seal 10 filling stations in Ibadan

    Oseni said that the Federal Government would soon bring in more fuel to the state through the major marketers.

    NAN

  • NNPC, DPR intensify clampdown on errant stations 

    NNPC, DPR intensify clampdown on errant stations 

    A team of Nigerian National Petroleum  Corporation  (NNPC) and the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) officials, led by NNPC Group Managing Director Maikanti Baru, yesterday continued its unscheduled visits to filling stations in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) suspected to be involved in underhand dealings.

    The visits, facilitated by the operatives of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), led to the clampdown on a notorious outlet in Kubwa District where petrol was being sold at N250 per litre, a price well above the approved retail price of N145/litre.

    The NNPC GMD ordered an on-the-spot dispensing of the product in the storage tank free to motorists in conformity with extant sanction for such misdemeanour .

    NNPC’s Group General Manager (Public Affairs) Mr. Ndu Ughamadu told reporters yesterday that Baru said with the Presidency’s directive for security agencies to tackle smuggling of petroleum products, cross-border activities and diversion of products would be curtailed, thus allowing Nigerians to benefit from the massive injection of fuel in the last few weeks.

    Also yesterday, the NNPC announced the temporary suspension of products dispensing at its mega station on Lagos Road, Port Harcourt, due to a fire which occurred near the station.

    The fire resulted from a Toyota Camry car which exploded outside the station.

    Although the fire did not affect the station, the corporation noted that it was imperative to suspend operations to enable security agencies clear the traffic at the scene.

  • DPR, Oyo govt seal 10 filling stations in Ibadan

    DPR, Oyo govt seal 10 filling stations in Ibadan

    Not less than 10 filling stations were sealed off in different parts of Ibadan, the Oyo state capital, following the enforcement by a combined team of the operatives of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) and officials of the Oyo state government.

    Seven were sealed off yesterday in addition to the three sealed off on Tuesday.

    The filling stations sealed off were found guilty of hoarding and selling petrol above the approved pump price of N145.

    The team also forced four filling stations that were hoarding fuel to dispense at the Federal government approved pump price to the relief of the people.

    The government said it set up the special task force team to support the DPR officials to rid the state of the activities of economic saboteurs parading themselves as petroleum marketers.

    The enforcement took place in Akobo, Ashi, Apata, Olorundaba, among other areas.

    Some of the filling stations sealed include Kesbash Oil Nigeria Limited,

    Swort Oil & Gas, Oduwoye Global Services Ltd, JOSFRAD International

    Venture, Roylab International Venture and Baley Nigeria Limited

    DPR Deputy Controller (Operations), Oyo State Sadiq Ibrahim who led the team told reporters that the essence of the monitoring was to check hoarding and price hike.

    Ibrahim said: “Those filling stations caught hoarding the product will  be charged for hoarding, while those who were selling above pump price will also be sanctioned. “This is because government has not increased pump price. What we have been able to do is to compel those hoarding to sell to the public at pump price and later seal them,’’ he said.

    Special Adviser to Governor Abiola Ajimobi on Community Relations Alhaji Abidemi Siyanbade said the team would continue with the enforcement until sanity returned.

    Residents of the areas visited across the metropolis lauded the initiative, saying the efforts would go a long way in alleviating the hardship.

    Mr Awoniyi Babatunde, a resident, said: “This is a great mess and we can’t continue like this. Our people cannot continue to blame the government on the issue but face the reality. Some marketers are just wicked. We are happy about the enforcement,’’ he said.

  • DPR gives free petrol in Abuja

    DPR gives free petrol in Abuja

    The Department of Petroleum Resources ( DPR ) on Tuesday sealed a filling station in Kubwa, a suburb of Abuja, for allegedly selling petrol above N145 and gave out the product free to motorists.

    The Abuja Zonal Operations Controller of the department, Mr Mohammed Abba, said the report about the station, Khalif Civic Oil and Investment Limited, was got from a tip-off.

    Also on the team was Dr Maikanti Baru, the Group Managing Director of the NNPC and Mr Aminu Abdullahi, Assistant Commandant-General, Operations, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).

    ”The station had 6,000 litres of petrol. We got the call from a good Samaritan. When we came, we realised the station is illegal because it is not licensesd and it was selling at N250 per litre.

    ”We instructed that the product should be dispensed free of charge.

    ”We will give them one month to come and regularise the licence, after that if he does not come we will hand over the station and the people concerned to the civil defence to prosecute,” Abba said.

    Baru said ”this collaborative effort of the DPR, Civil Defence and NNPC is to identify stations that are erring in line with President Muhammadu Buhari’s directive for us as agencies to fish out those perpetuating the fuel scarcity.

    ”This was discovered by the DPR on a tip-off. Government is appreciative and wants Nigerians to come forward with such information on where products are sold above N145”.

    The fuel crisis started more than two weeks ago.