Gov’t to issue licences for cylinder recirculation project

The Chief Executive Officer for the National Petroleum Authority, Mr. Alhassan Tampuli, has said government is determined to issue licences to some Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) companies and distributors in 2019 to be at the forefront of the cylinder recirculation module.

This, he said, will help increase job creation in the country, since the exercise will have to engage more than 4,500 jobs in the country when it is being implemented.

According to him, fuel stations situated at high risk areas will be converted into distribution outlets for filled cylinders – where customers can go and exchange with an initial deposit to secure a cylinder, while the low-risk refilling plant will supply auto-gas under safety measures.

He said this during a press conference in Tamale, which was aimed at apprising the media on some policies of the authority – including the cylinder recirculation model, petroleum pricing, and Safety standards.

“Under this system, no consumer owns a gas cylinder but goes for a filled one at the certified points and leaves the empty one for refilling; meanwhile, new users will have to also pay a deposit before taking the filled cylinder to enable the outfit purchase new cylinders for the project,” Mr. Tampuli explained.

“We are going to have bottling plants, and each plant will have not less than forty employees working at the site,” he stated.

According to him, there will be LPG cylinder trucks which move with the filled cylinders from place to place to, so as to make gas accessible to consumers and ease the stress consumers go through in accessing gas for domestic use.

Speaking on some safety measures, Mr. Tampuli cautioned drivers to switch-off their car engines at fuel pumps when refilling their vehicles. He said this will avoid fire sparking at the fuel station.

He further expressed worries about the spate of fuel fires in the country, and advised fuel stations to desist from discharging fuel after 6pm. He said it is unsafe to discharge fuel when darkness falls, because it is difficult to escape in case of any explosion.

He therefore called on the media to serve as agents of change in the community by educating the populace about fuel safety on their various platforms.

“Each and every one has to make it a responsibility to report any unsafe occurrence at fuel stations, because if there is any incident it may affect our loved ones,” he added.