The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has announced that large fuel tanker trucks carrying 60,000 litres and above will no longer be allowed to load fuel at depots across the country.
The Executive Director of Distribution Systems, Storage, and Retailing Infrastructure, Ogbugo Ukoha, disclosed this to Journalists on Wednesday.
He said the decision is part of new measures to enhance road safety, regulate fuel quality, and ensure stable fuel supply across the country.
Ukoha said the ban will take effect from March 1, 2025.
This is coming on the heels of recent tanker accidents that resulted in fire outbreaks that claimed multiple lives and destroyed properties in different parts of the country.
This decision was reportedly made after a series of consultations with key stakeholders, including the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Department of State Services (DSS), National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), and the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN).
“The first stakeholder’s technical committee met today to drill down and put timelines for about 10 resolutions that had been taken on how to drive down the significant increase that had been observed in relation to trucks and transit incidents and fatalities,” Ukoha stated.
He further emphasized that, for the first time, a broad consensus was reached among all stakeholders to collectively ensure the safe transportation of petroleum products.
“We continue to encourage that we will work together cohesively to deliver a safe transportation of petroleum products across the country,” he added.
He reiterated the NMDPRA’s commitment to safety, regulatory compliance, and efficient fuel distribution in Nigeria.
NMDPRA guarantees high-quality fuel supplies
Ukoha also assured residents that the agency conducts laboratory tests on petroleum products and confirms their quality before they are supplied to Nigerians.
He said the agency checks specifications such as the octane number, the sulfur content, the density, the color, the oxygenate level, and many other parameters.
“Before any product is distributed in Nigeria, the regulator ensures that from the load port of the product, whether from a domestic refinery or imported from outside the country, and as well as at the discharge port, accredited laboratories must test every product and duly issue certificates of quality to say that the product that is in the in the vessel meets those specifications.
“It is only on that basis that products are then discharged and distributed across the country,” he noted
What you should know
- A tragic tanker explosion claimed 102 lives in Suleja, Niger State in January.
- Eyewitnesses said the accident occurred when a tanker carrying 60,000 litres of petrol overturned and another was brought to transfer the petrol it was conveying into it. The explosion happened when residents reportedly rushed to the scene to scoop petrol from the overturned tanker.
- According to the Federal Road Safety Corps, 265 persons have been lost to multiple incidences of tanker explosions in parts of the country, from September 2024 to February 2025.
