The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has sealed 19 illegal Liquefied Petroleum Gas and Category D cooking gas outlets in Delta State.
Category D LPG operators are those who refill gas from licensed plants for customers to collect from their premises.
The NMDPRA Coordinator in the state, Victor Ohwodiasa, disclosed this to journalists in Warri on Tuesday, noting that “the illegal gas outlets were sealed within the past two weeks.”
He said the outlets were shut in Orerokpe, Ogwashi-Ukwu, and Warri, as well as other surrounding areas.
Ohwodiasa explained that “the illegal gas outlets were closed for offences ranging from lack of prerequisite approvals to unsafe locations.
“During the operation, about 28 illegal outlets were identified by the authority. We tried to assess whether they could be regularised, as they were wrongly sited.
“The outlet sealed in Ogwashi-Ukwu was a five-metric-tonne refilling plant constructed by the roadside, close to high-tension cables.
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“The authority assessed the environment and found that it was wrongly located on a right of way and had no approval. It was sealed, and a relocation order was issued immediately.
“Other offenders were engaged in what we call decanting—that is transferring gas from one cylinder to another. This is strictly prohibited.
“The correct practice is bottle swap, where customers exchange their empty cylinders for filled ones,” he said.
The NMDPRA coordinator stressed that the exercise is not intended to frustrate small-scale gas business owners, but to ensure they operate in a safe and secure environment.
