Ben Dunno, Warri
The management of the Petroleum Product Marketing Company (PPMC) has denied the report that commercial activities at the Warri Depot had been grounded, insisting that the depot was only experiencing low volume of activities as result of maintenance work at the Warri Refinery plant which would be soon be completed.
The Area Manager, Warri, Engr. Dogara Gyet, who made this known while speaking with Daily Sun in Warri, on Thursday, disclosed that the depot had been in business and would continue to be in business of serving the masses better by ensuring availability and adequate distributions of petroleum products across the country.
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Reacting to the issue of the Depot being grounded as the commercial activities commonly seen within the vicinity of the depot had disappeared in the last few days, the Area Manager reaffirmed that there had never been a time that the Depot was grounded as both administrative and commercial activities had been going on even during public holidays.
According to him, “The Warri Depot had never been grounded contrary to speculations.
“The place had been working and even during public holidays, we carried out our normal routine. It’s just on Sunday this week we did not work but every other day there’s loading going on at the depot.
“I think what you can say about the depot is that volume of activities has drastically reduced, because the Warri Refinery is presently carrying out very serious rehabilitation work on some major facilities there”
“To me this ongoing rehabilitation work is very important because it will help greatly in tackling two key areas, viz-a-viz ; the problem of scarcity of products during the ember months, especially the Christmas period and the forthcoming elections.
“And the essence is that when the refinery finally bounced back, it can check untoward situation commonly associated with scarcity during the festive period and also guide against unforeseen things to make sure we have a smooth and uninterrupted supply of products during the general elections”.
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Responding to the issue of the Warri Refinery being overwhelmed by demand for products, the Area Manager noted that “Other refineries had their challenges and they are working on them.
“They are also carrying out other rehabilitation jobs but the fact remains that Warri Refinery had been on course”.
On availability of petroleum products at the depot, he stated that products such as PMS, DPK and Diesel are readily available but the management had to resort to rationing them during distribution, in order not to be caught wanting when the need for such products arises during the plant start up.