DPR shuts Hudson Petroleum depot

The Department of Petroleum Resources has shut down a depot operated by Hudson Petroleum Limited in Calabar, Cross River State, for allegedly selling petrol above the regulated depot price as well as hoarding the product.

The DPR said in a statement on Monday that the development was discovered during a routine surveillance drive carried out under the Eket Field office.

It said investigations revealed that despite receiving 13,606,064 litres of the product in the depot late in December 2015, the operator still contrived to load out very sparingly and was selling at N95.00 per litre, thereby violating government’s stipulated ex-depot price of N76.50.

The statement read in part, “Being mindful of the need to ensure availability of products, especially Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) to the public at all times in order to ease attendant hardship, the DPR made several attempts to compel the depot to increase the volume and frequency of truck-out and to revert to the official ex-depot price, but the company persisted in this unwholesome practice.

“Consequently, the depot has been placed under seal specifically for selling above the regulated depot price and for hoarding of the PMS. It has been mandated to pay the punitive fine of N10m, and in addition, the company has been suspended from operations for three months in accordance with the new sanctions regime recently issued by the DPR.”

[Punch]

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