Cross River threatens to shut tank farms

The Cross River State House of Assembly will shut tank farms that have not put in place safety measures 30 days from now.The Speaker of the State House of Assembly, John Gaul Lebo, said this in Calabar after considering a motion brought before the House by the member representing Yakurr II State Constituency, Eteng Jonnah Williams.

This, according to the speaker, is contained in the Cross River State Safety Commission Law and the amended Cross River State Fire Service Law enacted by the state Assembly. 

The law, he said, became imperative due to the high number of tank farms operating in the state and without proper control by the state.Lego said, “The tank farms do not comply with development control because they get their design and approval from the PPMC. We are concerned that the business of the tank farms has led to the piping of Cross River State in more than 300 locations namely the airport, through the navy, the House of Assembly quarters, the House of Assembly itself, the governor’s house and through TINAPA.

“If we have simultaneous explosions, Cross River State will be heralded into a scene of inferno that will burn forever. An incident that happened recently claimed about 13 lives. We cannot sit down and watch that happen.’’
 
He said the state is intervening through a legislative process that will ensure that operators comply with a safety process enshrined in the Safety Commission Law and the amended Cross River State Fire Service Law.Meanwhile, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has revealed that crude oil production reduced by 120,687,560 barrels in 2016.

A report posted on its website indicate that from 2012 to 2016, 656,804,590 barrels was produced compared to 777,492,150 barrels produced in 2015 adding that, 771,444,960 barrels of oil were exported in 2015 compared to 773,833,130 barrels exported in 2014.

The bureau noted that 2,711,803,306.10mscf of gas was produced in 2016 compared to 3,003,179,000.00mscf of gas produced in 2015 while 2,404,095,858.60mscf was utilized in 2016 as against 2,672,247,000.000.00mscf utilized in 2015.

The bureau further stated that 57,437,000b/d of liquified petroleum gas; 260,787,000b/d of petroleum motor spirit (PMS), 144,654,000b/d of household kerosene, 200,114,000b/d of Automotive Gas Oil and 283,632,000b/d of fuel oil were recorded as finished product from domestic refineries in 2105.The NBS disclosed that the nation’s crude oil reserve as at 2106 was 37,453,000,000 barrels.