Daily Times

ISLAMABAD/KARACHI: Holding Shell Pakistan Limited (SPL) responsible for the Bahawalpur tragedy, the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) on Friday ordered the subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell to pay about Rs 280 million in damages and compensation for the tanker explosion that killed around 214 people last month.

The regulator has imposed a fine of Rs 10 million on the SPL for violating the Pakistan Petroleum Rules 1937 in plying the lorry, and has additionally ordered it to pay Rs 1 million each to the families of the deceased and Rs 500,000 each to the injured victims of the incident. The company has been directed to deposit the fine within three working days on receipt of this order.

An oil tanker of the SPL met with accident near village Safeerwala in Bahawalpur district on June 25. At least 214 people collecting spilled fuel were killed as the tanker exploded into fire while some 140 more were wounded. “SPL shall comply with the above decision, failing which the authority would be constrained to initiate proceeding against the company to impose further penalty or any other strict action under the law/rules inter alia, including suspension of marketing activity,” OGRA said in its 13-page report compiled after its third-party inspectors (TPIs) visited the incident site and gathered first-hand information. The report revealed that the tank lorry, hired by the SPL from Marwat Enterprises, was found to be non-compliant to the Pakistan Petroleum Rules 1937. “Since the tank lorry was found not having CIE licence, therefore, it is regarded as non-complaint with the rules. And as per the ENAR Petrotech report, the tank lorry had four axles, therefore, was not compliant with the NHSO-2000.” As per the National Highway Safety Ordinance (NSHO)-2000 requirement, 50,000L tank lorry must have 5-6 axles, it added.

Although, the report said, the SPL had provided a certificate of fitness by the motor vehicle examiner issued from Quetta, but it was found fake when confirmed by the chief minister investigation team.

Furthermore, the SPL has failed to provide the pre-load checklist of their own company. Instead, they have submitted their hauler Marwat Enterprises’ checklist. “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 emergency response plan (ERP) and submitted ERP of its hauler Marwat Enterprises. “This shows SPL entire dependence on the ERP of its hauler, 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,” the report said.

Published in Daily Times, July 8^th , 2017.