Marketers seek funds to replace dangerous 40-year-old tankers
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Marketers of oil have called for investment in new tankers to replace existing ones some of which are about four decades old and easily breakdown and cause explosion as they covey fuel on roads across the country.
Major Oil Marketers of Nigeria (MOMAN) Clement Isong said many of the 40,000 petroleum products tankers are “about 40 years old. Those trucks should not be on the road because they are prone to accidents.”
He explained in a lecture at an oil and gas summit in Lagos that a lack of funds for new tankers is part of the fallouts of low investment in the downstream oil sector.
He expressed hope that the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) will encourage investment in new tankers as part of the way forward.
“Those are investments that haven’t been made in Nigeria for very many years because the business was not generating enough money.
“But by the time the PIA is implemented, then we will have better quality trucks – trucks that will not continue to cause accidents like those we currently see on the road,” he said.
_________________________________________________________________
Related articles:
Fuel scarcity may return with a vengeance, marketers warn
NNPC loses 116.46m litres of oil worth nearly N19b
Auditor says 107.23m barrels of oil missing on Buhari’s watch
__________________________________________________________________
Investment to guarantee safety of lives and depots
Isong said asset depreciation also affects storage tanks that are between 50 and 60 years old, and urged the government to drive investment into the sector to guarantee the safety of lives and depots, according to reporting by The PUNCH.
“Although most of the tanks at the private depots are also old, those at the NNPC [Nigerian National Petroleum Company] depots are even older.
“The 30,000 filling stations in the country are also very old. Most of them are about 50-60 years old. Those stations need to be pulled down and rebuilt. Filling stations are supposed to be rebuilt every 10 to 15 years.
“The underground tanks also need to be changed because they are rusty and cause products to seep into the water being consumed.”
Isong canvassed deployment of new technologies to improve the safety of lives and properties in the oil industry.
He implored Abuja to facilitate self-regulation that would pull investment into the downstream sector, and in turn improve safety performance.
“When I say safety, I mean the entire health, safety, environment and quality of the depots across the country. And I’m not just talking about the private depots alone.
“So, there is so much investment that needs to be made to upgrade the filling stations in the country. But sometimes, the sector probably will need the regulator to accompany us to make sure that we do the things that we must do.”
