Nigeria’s Oil Sector Battles With Safety As 412 People Die

Nigeria's Oil Sector

Due to carelessness in the petroleum industry’s value chain for storage and distribution, 412 people have died in Nigeria over the past four years.

The mortality, which occurred between 2018 and 2022, yesterday sparked new questions about the state of environmental, health, and safety policies in the nation’s downstream petroleum industry, as fires in gas stations and tanker accidents are the leading causes of fatalities and property losses.

Participants in the petroleum products transportation business observed that the development continued to be unsatisfactory during a conference organized by the Nigerian Midstream Downstream Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) in Abuja.

While accusing fingers were pointed at operators’ carelessness, Petroleum Tanker Drivers, the Nigerian Association of Transport Owners (NARTO), and the Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) expressed concern about the country’s ongoing sale of subpar auto parts, bad roads, and inadequate infrastructure to support the haulage of white goods.

The NMDPRA accused operators of failing to ground trucks, discharging during high temperatures, performing maintenance on the truck while discharging, discharging and dispensing at the same time, and having leaks on the trucks. This accusation came amid claims that truck drivers were abusing drugs, lacking training, and other issues.

Operators must prioritize the requirement to completely comply with relevant Health, Safety, and Environment laws and Regulations as provided in the PIA, according to Maijiddah Abdulkadir, North Central Regional Coordinator, NMDPRA, who addressed at the event.

She underlined that cooperation is essential to preventing the risks and dangers associated with unethical behavior and noncompliance with legal requirements with regard to safety in the transportation of petroleum products, particularly gas.

“The NMDPRA has planned to recommence the Health Safety and Environment (HSE) technical audits; of which the outcome will be used in liaison with other Directorates, in the issuance of various licenses. The HSE technical audit will evaluate the adequacy of the HSE requirements, competency and training of staff engaged by the operators.”

“This will no longer be business as usual, it is now safety first, and the NMDPRA would ensure that the aspirations of the Federal Government by passing the PIA is achieved. The law has provided in clear terms, that in the case of negligence by any operator, such operator would be sanctioned accordingly,” Abdulkadir said.

She claims that the goal of today’s interaction is to guarantee that activities are run safely in order to safeguard people, property, and the environment, not to punish the operators.

She pointed out that addressing the industry’s safety issues will help it draw in new business, lower insurance costs, and safeguard the public.

According to the industry’s rate of safety concerns, as of 2021, one death was reported on average every four days, and occurrences reported in 2023 indicate that things could get worse in that regard in 2024.

The NMDPRA mandated that every station and truck have enough earthing cables and hoses of different sizes for discharge and connection in order to reduce occurrences.

The regulator added that drivers needed to be trained and that trucks needed to be inspected before loading and unloading.

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