FG reviews guidelines for running downstream gas facilities after Lagos explosion

The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has declared that any company that wants to set up gas-dispensing facilities will henceforth get three approvals and licenses, and scale other regulatory hurdles before obtaining the go-ahead to begin operations.

According to DPR, “Companies intending to establish these facilities must satisfy all necessary requirements stipulated by DPR and obtain the underlisted applicable approvals: Site suitability approval; Approval to Construct (ATC)/Approval to Install; and Licence to Operate.

“Necessary amenities and equipment’s like functional automated/manual leak tester, functional fire alarm system, and mounted gas detectors, adequate fire water storage and sprinklers, perimeter fence with fire wall amongst others must be provided in the facilities,” Sarki Auwalu, the DPR chief, said in a statement issued in Abuja.

The policy shift is coming days after a gas explosion at Baruwa, Ipaja, Lagos which, apart from killing a number of locals, spurred a collateral damage that affected over 20 buildings.

While taking stock of the accident, the DPR observed the facility was unlicensed and had been running illegitimately, Mr Auwalu said, citing this as the ground for the inferno.

The new operational framework entails preconditions and terms for running Liquefied Petroleum Gas refilling plants and retail outlets, and for setting up autogas refuelling stations, add-on gas facilities as well as gas storage and utilisation.

The DPR head disclosed that the policies aim at deepening gas penetration and utilisation at the same firming up operational safety and the ease of doing business in the energy industry.