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The Deputy Director and Head – Downstream Monitoring and Regulations, at the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Ijeoma Onyeri, said today that owning firefighting trucks will henceforth be part of the prerequisites for the renewal of operational licences of depots.

Onyeri made this known at a stakeholders’ meeting with depot owners at the Warri zonal office of the DPR. According to her, this safety measure would help address the outbreak of fire incidents in the depots.

Earlier this year, there was a fire incident at the Stallionaire Oil Depot in Lagos. Ditto at the NNPC Depot in Minna, last month.

“Every depot must have fire trucks to handle fire outbreak, and (they) must be stationed at the depot; this will now form part of the renewal of your operational licences,” Onyeri told the depot owners at the meeting. “DPR takes safety and security very seriously; so, you are to train and retrain your personnel by DPR by accredited consultants.”

The Deputy Director said that the agency is very much concerned with the safety of personnel and facilities. She said there is an on-going effort to introduce a training programme, called Minimum Safety Industry Training for Downstream, which, upon implementation, would also become part of the requirements to renew operational licences.

She added that it is mandatory for every depot to have safety case and Oil Spill Contingency Plan Documents, which must be shown to DPR officials during inspections.

The DPR team, led by the Deputy Director, also visited A.Y.M Shafa Oil Tank Farm, Pinnacle Oil and Gas, and Matrix Energy Limited for inspection.

Onyeri, satisfied with the performance of the companies, said “The level of safety compliance is very impressive. They have met most of the DPR guidelines. In Matrix, everything is automated; if there is any emergency, they have a control room where they can shut down.”