The DPR has handed down tough sanctions to some major oil distributors in Nigeria for hoarding petrol.
The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) on Thursday allegedly closed down the depots of Total Nigeria Plc, Dee Jones Limited and Eterna Oil Plc in Ibafon area of Lagos for hoarding over 46 million litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), otherwise called petrol.
According to ThisDay, the agency has also debunked the claims by marketers that there was scarcity of petrol and blamed the tight supply situation on depot owners, who hoard products, thus causing panic buying.
While Total and Eterna Oil were allegedly hoarding 13.6 million litres each, DPR’s surveillance monitoring team indicated that the Dee Jones depot was hoarding about 19.5 million litres.
The regulatory authority also queried Ascon Oil and ordered the management of the company to appear at the agency’s head office to explain why the company should not be sanctioned for its slow pace of loading tankers, despite the availability of eight million litres in its depot.
Integrated Oil and Gas Limited was also directed to speed up the loading process as the company had up to 10.2 million litres of petrol when the agency’s surveillance monitoring team paid an unscheduled visit to the facility.