This year, a total of 85 illegal gas plants have been shut down in Lagos Sate, the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Lagos Zonal Office has revealed.
The Zonal Operations Controller, Lagos, DPR, Mr Ayorinde Cardoso, disclosed this during a sensitisation campaign on safe handling of Liquefied Petroleum Gas, also known as cooking gas, by the agency’s officials led by him.
The regulatory agency said that it had collaborated with other stakeholders including the Lagos State Government to stamp out illegal gas business in the state as part of efforts to curb gas explosions.
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He said, “The major infractions that we have seen are product diversion, unauthorised decanting and illegal construction of plants.
“From our experience, we have seen that most of the accidents occurred in the illegal plants. This year, we have shut down about 85 illegal plants, and this is something we do on a continuous basis.”
Cardoso noted that there were many people doing gas business the wrong way, adding that the DPR had, on a continuous basis, made efforts to improve on regulatory activities and statutory requirements.
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He said, “We are encouraging everybody who wants to invest in that sector to go through the right channels. You apply, go through the guidelines and follow the steps.
“We will not allow illegal facilities to operate. Right now, we are collaborating with a lot of stakeholders including the Lagos State Government to eradicate all the illegal plants. We have so many of those illegal plants and we are taking them out one by one.”
According to Cardoso, the main purpose of the sensitisation campaign is to improve the acceptability of LPG and enhance safety awareness.
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Recall that a number of devastating gas explosions have been experienced in Lagos State in recent times.
By Peace Obi
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