Shell has submitted its primary probe into the oil tanker fire to OGRA

Shell  has submitted its primary probe into the oil tanker fire to OGRA
ISLAMABAD (By Ghulam Fareed Anjum)  The Shell oil company has submitted its primary probe into the oil tanker fire to the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra). Ogra has already activated its third party inspectors and is awaiting its findings, it is been learnt.

An Ogra official said: “Though the Shell oil company submitted its report but it was too short.” “As an expert I can say that it is too short and does not seem a serious report,” the official said.
“The report didn’t talk about the SOPs, the tanker quality or the response of driver or the company to the incident,” he said.
The report read: “Shell contracted Tank Lorry No TLJ-352 involved in the incident was carrying 50,000 litres of motor gasoline. The transporter was Marwat Enterprises and was taking the fuel from Keamari to Vehari. The location of the incident near village Safeerwala was six kilometres from Ahmedpur Sharqya, approximately 794 kilometres from Keamari Installation.”
Talking about the key factor, the report said: “The tank lorry was travelling at 35km/hr [We have the tracker report as evidence], which is within the speed limit.
“As per our initial hauler investigation, a passenger bus after overtaking the tank lorry applied harsh break in front of the tank lorry. To avoid collision from behind, the driver moved the tank lorry to left hand side of the road on the soft shoulder, which resulted in rollover of the tank lorry.”
It said, “Sadly, not realising the huge safety risk involved, people from the nearby village gathered to collect the spilled product in buckets/containers. Despite utmost effort by the local traffic authorities to manage the incident, a chaos erupted, which resulted in such a grave tragedy.”
However, the Ogra official said that the report was unsatisfactory
“It is not enough to make final decision in such a crucial case. Ogra is required to carry out further investigation,” he said, adding that Shell was trying to shrugging off its responsibility but as an Ogra licencee the firm was answerable to the happening.
The oil belongs to the company and the contractor has nothing to do with it, it was the responsibility of Shell to ensure the quality of Bowzers and the implementation of crises management SOPs, the official maintained.
About the punishment, the official said it depends upon the ‘gravity of negligence and the maximum punishment was the revoking of license’.
The official said Ogra would also evaluate the standard operating procedures (SOPs) of the company to find out what measures were adopted during the time of the incident, an official source told The Nation.
Ogra has a panel of third party inspectors, which include technical experts and have the capability of assessing such a situation, it is learnt.
After the tragic incident, Ogra has activated their third party inspectors and asked them to submit its finding immediately, the official said.
Sending third party inspectors to the area is just one step and to get to the conclusion of what really happened Ogra will get report from other sources as well, he said.
Another report will be obtained from the district administration in this regard, the official said.
He also said “It is too early to blame anyone for the incident as the company will also have to answer some basic questions on the operation of oil tankers,” he said.
Every company must have a crisis management SOP for its business and Shell was no exception, the official said.
Ogra will ask the company to provide their complete Crisis Management SOPs, whether these SOPs were followed or not, he said.
The official said that reportedly the tanker belonged to the contractor and there would be investigation of quality of tanker involved in the incident.
“Ogra technical team will evaluate the quality of the Bowzers, its valves and the manufacturing company,” he said.
Under Ogra rules, no oil marketing company is allowed any substandard Bowzers to operate, the official said. When contacted, Ogra spokesman confirmed that the authority got the report that was being evaluated.
He said that they were also probing the incident with the technical experts and will make their judgment on their findings.