The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has dispelled the fear of Tirwun community of Bauchi local government of Bauchi state on the establishment of a gas plant there.
Recall that residents of the community had recently raised the alarm over the construction of the gas plant by Action Energy limited.
The community pointed out that the proposed gas plant poses danger to them saying in the event of explosion, it would burn their houses and a congregational friday mosque that is close to the station under construction.
However, the Comptroller of DPR Bauchi field office Abdullahi Iliyasu in an interview with Blueprint allayed the fear of the community asserting that the department had conducted an assessment of the site and found it safe before granting the owners approval to establish the gas plant.
He said one of the guidelines for siting a gas plant is that it must be about 50 meters away from residences noting that in the case of Tirwun gas plant, there is a distance of 70 meters.
“Between the plant and the said mosque, there is a demarcator road. The land was cleared, it will not cause any harm or problem. Based on that, the land was approved for the building of gas plant.
“There is no gas plant that has good land size in Bauchi than that of Tirwun. A comprehensive environmental impact assessment was carried out to ascertain any potential danger”. He said.
The DPR comptroller said the federal government encourages people to be using gas adding that if all safety protocols are followed, gas plants pose no danger.
He stated that DPR inspects petroleum and gas stations before and after their establishment to ensure they are safe and in line with the laid down regulations.
Iliyasu who disclosed that they subject workers of filling stations to two years training on how to use fire extinguishers warned that any station without safety equipment risks sanction or sealings.