Group Wants Active Participation In New Gas Policy 

A group known as the Association of Surface Tank Oil and Gas Retailers (ASTROGEN) has demanded that its members be allowed to play active role in the new policy on gas retailing introduced by the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), which encourages the use of domestic gas in the rural areas.
Rivers State chairperson of the group comrade  Patience Uche  in a press statement, said the policy was in line with, “the vision and strategic target of the group to promote the direct involvement of the people in surface tanks oil and gas retailing business.”
She urged the DPR to allocate more operational licenses to its members to  own and operate surface tank  business in rural areas, and pointed out that the initiatives will, “ promote entrepreneurial development in the rural areas, reduce petroleum and gas supplies from foreign marketers through importation of products and reduce bunkering.”
She said the group was ready to partner with the DPR and other stakeholders in the down stream sector, especially in the mobilisation of the grassroots to key into the policy and domesticate the use of gas in their homes, and called for special training of its members and provision of investment capital  for them, domesticate the “deep penetration policy” in  gas utilisation at the grass roots.
Uche said its membership was cut across the 24 LGAs of the state and has always been at the forefront of the clamour for the review of the gas policy to be grassroots based. She also called on the Rivers State Government to provide loan facilities for its members as part of deliberate empowerment to key into the new gas policy to promote enterprise development at the rural areas.
Recalled that authorities of Zonal Office of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) recently   organised a training and sensitisation workshop   for stakeholders in the LPG sub sector of the downstream economy as part of efforts at creating awareness  on the new policy on the use of domestic gas.
The DPR said the new gas policy will introduce the use of domestic gas in the rural areas, through the building of surface gas tanks in the rural areas for retailing adding that LPG has proven to be a cleaner, safer and more cheaper source of energy.

Taneh Beemene