Victor EzejaDepartment of Petroleum Resources (DPR), said it has sealed off 59 unapproved cooking gas plants in Lagos state from January to June this year.
Assistant Director, Operations, DPR, Lagos Zonal Office, Mrs Olubunmi Ogundare, stated this during a surveillance operation at Alimosho Local Government Area of the state.
Ogundare said the exercise was part of the agency’s oversight duty of monitoring activities of companies operating within the industry across the entire value chain.
The DPR Assistant Director noted that the affected Liquefied Petroleum Gas plants were sealed for not complying with the prerequisite safety standards and operating without necessary approvals.
Eight gas plants located at Idimu, Ikotun-Egbe, Ipaja and Igando were reportedly sealed off by the agency at the end of the operation.
She explained that the LPG plants were shut down for various reasons including operating within densely populated areas and other unapproved locations for gas business.
LPG is a highly inflammable substance and require high safety protocols for set up and operation of a plant.
Ogundare said the surveillance exercise, was aimed at curbing the proliferation of LPG facilities and ensuring safety of lives and property of Nigerians.
According to her, it would also help to sanitize LPG facilities in Lagos State by enforcing standards in their operations.
She said, “Those identified illegal LPG facilities contravened the DPR guidelines for the establishment of LPG refilling plants and retailers outlets in Nigeria.
“You cannot operate LPG plant without applying for pertinent approval from DPR. For you to get this approval, you must go through three phases which take place in stages from setting up the LPG facility, construction and commencement of operations.
According to Ogundare, the three approvals are site suitability, approval to construct and licence to operate.
“If you don’t have these pertinent approvals, you are not supposed to operate an LPG facility in Nigeria,” she said.
She also advised Nigerians to report any illegal and unsafe LPG facility within their locality to the DPR for the regulatory agency to take necessary action.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with six years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Masters degree in Mass Communication.
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