Six gas stations and an illegal gas refinery have been shut down by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Warri Zonal Office, due to shady business activities in Delta State.
Tuesday saw the sealing of the stations in the state’s Uvwie and Udu Local Government Areas under the direction of Mr. Goziem Chukwurah, Head of Operations at the NMDPRA’s Warri headquarters.
It was learned that the filling stations were closed due to violations that involved under-dispensing and operating without licenses.
According to NAN, the defaulters in Orhuwhorun town, Udu Local Government Area, included Bwede Filling Station, Pius A Idoghor Oil and Gas, Eshegbe Oil, Fetega Oil, and Sole Energy Enterprise.
Others are the Falcon Bay Oils near the PTI Junction and the DSC Expressway, both in the Uvwie Local Government Area.
At the conclusion of the exercise, Chukwurah spoke to the media on behalf of Mr. Victor Ohwodiasa, the NMDPRA Coordinator in Delta.
According to Ohwodiasa, the exercise’s goal was to make sure that consumers received value for their money.
“Most of the petrol stations we visited were selling without operational licences, we have to shutdown them and invite the owners to our office.
“We sealed six petrol retail outlets and an illegal gas plant for various offences ranging from lack of operational licenses and under-dispensing of petroleum products to consumers,” he said.
Ohwodiasa asked customers to report to the regulatory authority any petroleum marketer who engaged in shady tactics so that the proper action could be taken.
The coordinator promised that the practice would go on indefinitely unless the marketers behaved honorably.
Ohwodiasa forbade marketers from engaging in criminal activity in order to prevent the closure of their stations.
A member of the Falcon Bay Oil employees was detained in the meantime for breaking the NMDPRA seal on their distribution device.
As a result, the suspect was turned over to the proper authority for prosecution.