For instance, a station that is selling at point 41CL of every 10 litres is short-changing the public. In other words, where they ought to get 10 litres, they are given maybe six or seven litres. This is not fair.
At least nine filling stations have been sealed in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State by the Department of Petroleum Resources due to expired licences and lack of basic operational equipment.
The facilities were sealed on Thursday by a team led by DPR’s Head of Operations in the state, Mr Ibinabo Jack.
The affected filling stations are Nun River Petroleum, Maccary Oil and Gas, Barbizon and an unnamed LPG station said to be operating illegally.
Others are NNPC retail outlet at Edepie, Otueyal Oil and Gas, Tony’s Green Field Petroleum, Mobil Oil and Gas and another NNPC retail outlet in the state capital.
Speaking during the exercise, Jack said, “The sealing of filling stations is not new and it’s not going to be a one-off thing.
“Rather, it will be a continuous exercise. We caught some of them dispensing to customers below the variation.
“For instance, a station that is selling at point 41CL of every 10 litres is short-changing the public. In other words, where they ought to get 10 litres, they are given maybe six or seven litres. This is not fair.
“Some did not even have sand buckets and these are things needed for their safety and that of their facilities as well as their customers.
“The penalties depend on their offences. When they report at DPR’s office, appropriate penalties will be spelt out to each of them.
“The DPR is a regulatory body and there are regulations biding the operations of retail outlets which need to be maintained by the operators.”