The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) said two persons were apprehended during its surveillance of petroleum products distribution in Delta, as part of its move to curtail lingering fuel scarcity.

NMDPRA boss in the state, Victor Ohwodiasa, revealed this when he led a team of the regulatory authority on an unscheduled inspection visit to some petroleum depots at Ifiekporo, Warri South Local Government Area, on Thursday evening and Friday.

“Once we get our daily manifest, we send our men out to make sure that those trucks get to their actual locations,” Mr Ohwodiasa explained to reporters. “There might be one or two infractions; we have apprehended about two persons for product diversion and they were made to face the full wrath of the law.”

The regulator assured that the prevailing fuel crisis ravaging various parts of the country would soon disappear.

“We will ensure that the depots receiving these products lift them out to the end users.

“By the time we have all the depots wet with PMS and they are lifting regularly, the looming scarcity we are experiencing will disappear,” Mr Ohwodiasa said.

Mr Ohwodiasa said that a lot of vessels laden with Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) known as petrol were already coming into the state.

The agency’s coordinator said the essence of the visit was to ensure that depots with the products dispensed to licensed retail outlets, eliminate middle men and also avoid diversion.

Mr Ohwodiasa said the NMDPRA would carry out intense routine surveillance, adding that it would sustain the tempo to ensure that the right things were done in the Midstream and Downstream sector of the oil and gas industry.

He, however, urged people to stop panic buying, assuring that the federal government was doing everything possible to ensure availability of petroleum products in the country, particularly during the Yuletide season and beyond.

Among the depots visited were: Matrix Energy Group, Pinnacle Oil and Gas Ltd. and AYM Shafa Ltd.

(NAN)