By Ikhili Ebalu, Benin City
The Department of Petroleum Resources, Benin field office has warned petroleum products and gas marketers in Edo and Delta states to imbibe safety culture with a view to minimize accident in their operation areas.
The DPR Director, Engr. Sarki Auwalu, gave the warning yesterday in Benin during the 2020 annual meeting with petroleum products and gas marketers with theme, Enabling business in the petroleum industry.
Represented by DPR Onal controller Warri, Ayokanmi Ayodeji, said the meeting was to rob minds and ensure safety in the down stream sector as some of the organizations in the petroleum and gass business don’t comply with DPR guideline of ensuring safety in business premises.
He urged the stakeholders to ensure safe operation through adequate provision of safety facilities, as many lives and investment are lost whenever an accident occured in their business.
“Company must develop safety culture embedded at all level of its work force and must be held above other consideration and compliance with rules and regulation which will promote safe operation,”.
Also speaking, DPR Benin operation controller, Ebi Ogiowo, said if recommendations from past meetings were obseeved, it will go a long way to in reducing accident in the sector
In his lecture tittled, ensuring safe operation in the downstream sector of petroleum Industry in the global current
challenge, Ogiowo said DPR laid emphasis on safety and prevention of accident in downstream sector.
He identified unsafety practice such as discharging petroleum products without safety precautions device, operating without adequate fire fighting tools, working on already weak platform and exposed pipe as some of the major causes of the accident in the petroleum and gas business environment
” To ensure safety in the sector, stakeholders should imbibe risk management practices and see DPR as partners in implementing safety guidelines,”
He however noted that that if the safety guidelines are not adhere to by stakeholders, DPR will have no option than to begin to impose sanction on operator in the industry.
Earlier, Chukwu Emmanuel, Assistant Corp Commander, federal road safety corp, said stakeholders must play their role and responsibilities in order to minimize hazards in the sector.
He noted that trucks conveying petroleum products and gas supposed to passes integrity test with tracking system, saying that if this is imbibed it will go a long way in reducing petroleum tanker accident.
Speaking on behalf of the marketer, the Chairman Major Marketers in Edo state, Anthony Akiotu commended DPR for meeting and called for the implementation of the resolution reached