The Federal Government declared on Monday that no unlicensed petroleum product dealer would be permitted to load items starting on June 1, 2023, and that such enterprises would be shut down starting on that date.
According to The PUNCH, the government issued the warning in Abuja through the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority at a stakeholders’ engagement on gas utilisation in Nigeria.
The aim of the engagement was to educate operators on the importance of expeditiously acquiring the necessary licence for petroleum storage and to facilitate the shift from white products to petrol.
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 licence.
“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 petrol and diesel.
