The Nigerian Government pledged to shut down such firms starting on June 1, 2023, and declared on Monday that no unregistered fuel product dealer will be allowed to carry supplies after that date.
It said that “no licence, no loading of any petroleum product” after June 1, 2023, and that anyone wishing to transact in petroleum products must get a license.
At a stakeholders’ meeting on gas usage in Nigeria, the government issued the warning in Abuja via the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority.
The engagement’s goals were to educate operators about the urgency of obtaining the necessary petroleum storage license and to encourage the switch from white products to gas.
“No licence, no loading. We still have like nine days to do the right thing and comply. As the scripture says, obedience is better than sacrifice. As a regulator we prefer that people comply so that it doesn’t have adverse effects on your businesses.
“If there is no compliance, we can assure you from the authority that from 1st of June, there will be no licence, no loading. Any depot, any licensed operator who supplies petroleum products to an unlicensed facility, we will shut down that operator,” the Executive Director, Distribution Systems, Storage and Retailing Infrastructure, NMDPRA, Ogbugo Ukoha, stated.
He added, “I want to make a special appeal that anybody who wants to handle petroleum products in excess of 500-litre storage, is required to obtain a licence. Our licensing procedure includes going through what your equipment is, the distance, hazards, procedures and everything.”
Ukoha urged the operators to position their energy demands to accept gas derivatives in order to take advantage of the changing prospects in the gas value chain.
He listed the derivatives, which also included compressed natural gas, autogas, propane, and butane, and said that investing in them would help protect against potential future global uncertainties caused by the supply of fuel and diesel.
Okoha claimed that the authority’s twelve gazetted regulations, which when broken posed higher dangers, had specified the licensing framework, practices, and standards for handling petroleum products.
Earlier, the authority’s Chief Executive Officer, Farouk Ahmed, said the Federal Government had put in place various initiatives and policy frameworks including the National Gas Expansion Programme and the Decade of Gas Programme to deepen the use of gas in Nigeria.
“It is our hope that this engagement will create the necessary awareness and make the compelling case for industry operators to foster a compliance culture, which alone guarantees safer and sustainable facilities,” Faouk, who was represented by the Executive Director, Health, Safety, Environment and Community, NMDPRA, Mustapha Lamorde, stated.
He said that the Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund, which is a part of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021, would catalyse investments in gas. He also said that while efforts to expand the use of gas were already showing results, more collaboration was still required to increase domestic gas usage.
