The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority says it has sealed 19 illegal liquefied petroleum gas and category D cooking gas outlets in Delta.

NMDPRA coordinator in Delta, Victor Ohwodiasa, disclosed this on Tuesday in Warri.

Mr Ohwodiasa said that the illegal outlets were sealed within the last two weeks in Orerokpe, Ogwashi-Ukwu, as well as Warri and its environs, during an operation by the authority.

The category D class of LPG operators are those within localities that refill gas from licenced gas plants for customers.

The NMDPRA coordinator said that the illegal gas outlets were shut down for offences ranging from lack of prerequisite approvals to operate such facilities to unsafe locations.

“During the operations, about 28 illegal outlets were spotted by the authorities. We tried to see if it was possible to have them regularised as they were wrongly sited.

“The outlet that was sealed in Ogwashi-Ukwu was a five-metric-tonne refilling plant constructed on a roadside closed to high-tension cables.

“The authority looked at the environment; it was wrongly sited on a right of way and has no approval. It was sealed, and a relocation order was issued immediately.

“Other offenders were the ones doing what we called ‘decanting’, which means bottle-to-bottle transfer. We do not allow that. What they are expected to do is ‘bottle swap’, that is, bring your empty cylinder and go with a filled one,” he said.

Mr Ohwodiasa explained that the essence of the exercise was not to frustrate small-scale gas business owners but to ensure they operate in a safe and secure environment.

He appealed to landlords to stop allocating land or property to the LPG category D operators who want illegal business on their premises or properties.

According to him, the essence is to prevent a possible fire outbreak that could destroy the operators’ and neighbours’ lives and properties.

He added that the NMDPRA was committed to ensuring that lives and properties were adequately protected.

Mr Ohwodiasa also said the regulatory authority would continue to sustain the exercise in the state and assured that anybody found wanting would face the wrath of the law.

He further said that any defaulter who refuses to relocate his facility would be handed over to the relevant security agencies for prosecution.

The coordinator appealed to the public to report anyone transferring cooking gas from one cylinder to another to the NMDPRA for prompt action.

He assured that the regulatory body would continue sensitising the operators, adding that the authority had annual stakeholders engaged with the gas plant owners and the category D operators.

(NAN)