Country's oil and gas regulator on Friday ordered a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell to pay about 257 million rupees ($2.4 million) in damages and compensation for a tanker explosion near Bahawalpur in Punjab that killed more than 200 people. The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) has held Shell Pakistan Ltd.(SPL) responsible for the blast in Punjab on June 25 after the tanker carrying gasoline for the company rolled over, and villagers rushed to collect leaking fuel.
The road accident was caused by "non-professional driving/vehicle being lesser than required specs", the authority said in a report seen by Reuters. "The report shows that they have completely ignored the safety standards of the vehicles procured from the contractors," Ogra spokesman Imran Ghaznavi told Reuters, referring to Shell Pakistan. Shell Pakistan said in an email the company was reviewing the report, adding "we respect the role of the regulator and will consider the report as we cooperate with investigations by authorities and as we conduct our own investigation".
Shell Pakistan has said the tanker was owned by a contractor it hired to transport its fuel. The energy regulator ordered Shell Pakistan to pay a penalty of 10 million rupees ($95,000). In addition, the regulator ordered the company to pay one million rupees ($9,478) in compensation to the families of each of those killed and half a million ($52,750) for each person injured.
The regulator also ordered the company to upgrade its "infrastructure" in line with its standards. The company has the right to appeal against the fine and compensation demand, he said. A separate government inquiry into police conduct was being carried out, said Punjab provincial government spokesman Malik Muhammed Ahmed Khan. The chairwoman of the OGRA, Uzma Adil Khan, said many fuel companies were not meeting safety requirements introduced in 2009, and the regulatory body had been slow to enforce them.
"This incident is certainly a wake-up call for all of us," she said. The vice chairman of the Pakistan's oil tankers association, Zaman Khan, said the accident last month was an anomaly. "Tankers meet international standards," he said.
BR staff reporter Wasim Iqbal adds: According to spokesperson Bahawalpur Victoria Hospital, Dr Khalil Nazish, the death toll from the oil tanker explosion in Bahawalpur has risen to 218, while 38 people were wounded and they are being treated at various hospitals of Punjab. "Out of 218 dead, 93 have been identified, while 125 are still unidentified," the spokesperson said, adding that the process of DNA is being employed for the identification of dead bodies.
Outbreak of fire is attributed to the lack or delayed response of the local administration and motorway police, as cordoning off the area to restrict the people from entering the site of accident was their responsibility.
The lack of awareness among general public regarding staying away from the site of such accidents led to the national tragedy.
The Ogra inspectors' report stated that such accidents can be mitigated through safety standards and this specific accident could have been avoided if the tanker was compliant with the applicable safety laws/rules.
The investigators have found that the tank lorry (TLJ 352) was hired by the SPL from its haulier, Marwat Enterprises, which has been found to be non-compliant with the Pakistan Petroleum Rules, 1937.
Since the tank lorry was found to be lacking a CIE licence, therefore, it is regarded as non-compliant with the rules. As per NHSO-2000 requirement, 50,000L tank lorry must have 5-6 axles but the said tank lorry had only 4 axles.
Though the SPL has provided a certificate of fitness of the motor vehicle examiner issued from Quetta, the same is fake as confirmed by the Chief Minister Investigation Team (CMIT), Punjab.
The SPL has failed to provide the pre-load check list. Instead, they have submitted their haulier's ie Marwat Enterprises checklist (Annexure-IX). If the same was in place or exercised/monitored in actual, the said lorry could have been denied for loading the product by the SPL.
The SPL has failed to provide its own ERP and submitted an ERP of its haulier's ie Marwat Enterprises. This shows SPL's entire dependence on the ERP of its haulier, which is very casual attitude of the company of the caliber of SPL to handle the emergency at the time of spill, etc, and the same is therefore not acceptable.
As per rule 69 of the Pakistan Oil Refining, Blending, Transportation, Storage and Marketing Rules, 2016, "A person, who contravenes any provision of the ordinance, these rules, terms and conditions of the licence, or the decisions of the Authority, shall be punishable with fine which may extend to Rs 10 million and in case of a continuing contravention with a further fine which may extend to one million rupees for every day during which such contravention continues."
In the light of the above, the authority has decided to impose a penalty of Rs 10 million on SPL which shall be deposited by the company within 03 working days after receipt of this order.
The SPL shall comply with the decision, failing which the authority would be constrained to initiate proceedings against the company to impose further penalty or any other strict action under the law/rules inter alia including suspension of marketing activity.
While a spokesperson of Shell Pakistan said, "Shell Pakistan is presently reviewing the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority report in detail. It would be unhelpful to speculate on factors that may have contributed to the incident whilst other investigations are still ongoing, but we respect the role of the regulator and will consider the report as we cooperate with investigations by authorities and as we conduct our own investigation."
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