The federal government of Nigeria, has revealed new conditions for obtaining of licenses by gas companies, saying that it will stop granting licences to gas companies with no capacity to build pipelines for gas distribution.
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, made the announcement, during a visit to an explosion scene at Ita Oshin. The incident, involved a faulty CNG truck belonging to Gasco Marine, claimed one life and destroyed several vehicles and shops.
The truck reportedly suffered brake failure, collided with a barricade, and ignited.
He also disclosed that he had directed the Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Farouk Ahmed, not to issue licences to anyone who could not pipe CNG to end users.
“As the Federal Government, we are trying all that we can to ensure we reduce virtual transportation of gas because of the volatility of it, especially with the Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano pipeline,” Ekpo said
“I have directed the authority chief executive that for any further issuance of licence, the company should be competent enough to pipe it to their end users so that we are not exposed to this kind of danger any longer.
“As a ministry, we are looking at how we can reduce a lot of virtual conveyance of gas. That is why we are putting much in developing the gas pipeline infrastructure so that the transportation would not be virtual, but rather through the pipelines. This will reduce this kind of incident and take off the pressure on our roads.”
The minister, who was recieved into the state by Governor Dapo Abiodun and his deputy, Noimot Salako-Oyedele, stated that President Bola Tinubu sent him to investigate the incident and sympathise with the people of Ogun state.
