EKOHOTBLOG reports that no fewer than 59 illegal cooking gas plants have been sealed off by the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Lagos Zone, from January to June 2021.
This was disclosed by the DPR Assistant Director of Operations, Lagos Zonal Office, Mrs. Olubunmi Ogundare, during a surveillance operation at the Alimosho Local Government Area of Lagos State on Friday.
EKOHOTBLOG reports that eight gas plants located at Idimu, Ikotun-Egbe, Ipaja, and Igando were also sealed by the DPR at the end of the operation.
Speaking, Ogundare disclosed that the affected Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) plants were sealed for not complying with the prerequisite safety standards and operating without pertinent approvals, adding that the move was part of the agency’s oversight duty of monitoring activities of companies operating within the industry across the value chain.
She further stated that the gas plants were sealed for various reasons including operating within densely populated areas and other unapproved locations for gas business.
The DPR Assistant Director added that the surveillance, which she described as a continuous exercise, was aimed at curbing the proliferation of LPG facilities and ensuring the safety of lives and property of Nigerians.
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Ogundare noted that the surveillance will also help to sanitise LPG facilities in Lagos State by enforcing standards in their operations, saying, “Those identified illegal LPG facilities contravened the DPR guidelines for the establishment of LPG refilling plants and retailers outlets in Nigeria.
“You cannot operate the 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,” she said.
According to the DPR Assistant Director, the three approvals include 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,” Ogundare added.
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