35 LPGMCs submits application for gas station

The CEO of National Petroleum Authority (NPA), Dr. Mustapha Abdul-Hamid has announced that 35 Liquified Petroleum Gas Marketing Companies (LPGMCs) have submitted application to put up a gas station in their respective locality.

“After cabinet gave us approval to allow some categories of LPGMCs to build their filling stations, we made that announcement to the industry, so far about 35 of them have submitted application, out of the 35, 29 did not have proper documentation, so we have sent it back to them to make their documentation up to date and submit. About six have proper documentation and we have sent it to our regional offices to physically inspect their site, and we will issue the licence for them to operate.” he told the Public Accounts Commission (PAC) when a question on the construction of new filling stations came up at the sitting on Monday.

In spite of the lifting of the ban to construct gas stations, the directive does not cover all categories and the MP for Bole Bamboi, Yusif Sulemana sought to find out if farthest areas like his constituency, special arrangement could be made to construct filling stations.

The Minister of Energy, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh is response to the appeal indicated that getting LPG or siting of LPG station is suppose to the done in a safe and secured manner, and it is for the reason government introduced the Cylinder Re-circulation Model of Liquefied Petroleum Gas to minimize the occurrence of gas explosions at these unapproved gas stations.

“ You might talk this way now, because there is a need which I agree totally with but let an accident happen and then NPA would be asked which were the safety and security issues to do the siting of that station -so we have moved on, like in the ECOWAS sub-region, everybody does cylinder recirculation which is a more secure way of distributing LPG…but we have moved on, even if NPA will grant approval in your neighbourhood [it has to suit the cylinder recirculation model]” the minister explained.

The NPA early this month announced the revocation of licenses of 30 oil marketing companies, or non-compliance with the rules and regulations of the Authority on the acquisition and maintenance of their licenses.

According Dr.Abdul-Hamid, for more than two years most of the deactivated companies did not come to renew their licences and the only option left was to report to EOCO for retrieval of the monies.

“We take the renewal of licence as an intention to do business, so if for two years, you have not come to NPA to renew your license and you are not operational, we take it that you no longer exist or your company has gone bankrupt, so the only option is to revoke, report to EOCO to pursue you for the monies that you keeping and which is what we did” he said.

Government last year lifted the ban it imposed in 2017 on the construction of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) stations.

The decision was arrived at Cabinet’s 35th sitting held on, August 3, 2022.

It was on the back of ongoing strike by Tanker Drivers and LPG Marketing Companies over the issue.

In a statement, the NPA said, “Cabinet has granted a special dispensation to allow the completion of the construction of stranded LPG stations across the country”.

The Authority has asked all Oil Marketing Companies and LPG companies to begin processes for approval.

Following the Atomic Gas Explosion that killed at least 7 people and injured 132 in Accra in 2017, government after a crucial cabinet meeting, announced a number of directives, about ten of them, geared towards sanitizing the fuel distribution and retail sector, to improve safety and save more lives.

One of the decisions, as approved by the President, was an immediate cessation of the construction of new fuel stations, to allow the NPA and its allied agencies, to carry out a proper audit of all the facilities.

The President also ordered the closure of all high-risk fuel stations within 30-days.

The President also ordered the implementation of the Cylinder Re-circulation Model of Liquefied Petroleum Gas distribution within a year.

The module, proposed by the NPA, will ensure that LPG filling points are sited out of densely populated areas and commercial centres.

The NPA regulates the petroleum downstream industry in Ghana. As a Regulator, the Authority ensures that the industry remains efficient, profitable, fair, and at the same time, ensuring that consumers receive value for money.

Source: norvanreports.com