NEW LEGISLATION governing the entire petroleum trade is being treated as a priority by the Ministry of Mining and Energy, according to Minister Robert Pickersgill.
A draft document will be dispatched for comments soon and the legislation will embody proper licensing arrangements, licensing fees and all relevant measures required to ensure the desired level of safety in the trade, he said.
The legislation stemmed from a report last month that cooking gas dealers were endangering the lives of consumers by illegally filling competitors'
cylinders with their product and ignoring proper safety measures.
At a meeting yesterday between the Minister and marketing companies in the trade, Petcom, IGL and Shell and a number of LPG dealers, concerns were again raised about the negative and potentially serious implications for consumers and the general public arising from the growing incidence of the unauthorised cross filling in the gas trade.
These included the holding by companies of large numbers of other company's cylinders, thus leading to an interruption of the smooth delivery of supplies, overfilling of cylinders, defective cylinders, improper testing and the filling in illegal and hazardous conditions.
It was discovered facilities belonging to all three companies were used in the cross filling process, and the companies said they were in discussions which would lead to the retrieval of cylinders.
Last month it was said the practice cost companies more than $100 million annually. Thousands of cylinders were reported stolen, filled and sold to the detriment of others, resulting in serious safety risks.
