An attendant is refuelling a truck at a PTT petrol station along National Road 6 in Kandal province. Hong Menea
The Ministry of Mines and Energy appealed to all owners of petroleum and fuel stations to abide with technical safety standards and legal requirements after noticing some substandard stations operating without a business permit.
General Department of Petroleum director-general Cheap Sour told The Post on Tuesday that the ministry will be implementing the Law on the Management and Production of Petroleum for all petrol and fuel stations across the country.
“The petroleum and fuel stations that have been newly built are required by law to have certification letters from the Ministry of Mines and Energy showing their adherence to technical safety standards, so stations of substandard quality are avoided.
“This way, if there are any incidents of explosions, it would be easy to bring the fire under control,” said Sour.
After the approval of the law on July 12, a working group from the ministry inspected stations and found more than 100 of them built across the country.
The ministry invited the owners to be educated and briefed about the law, technical safety standards, and proper procedures to seek business permits from the ministry. The owners were also asked to register their businesses properly to guarantee safety.
“After instructing the owners of more than 100 petroleum and fuel stations on December 6, more than 40 of them applied to the ministry for permission to operate. The ministry is currently collaborating with station owners across the country.
“We formed inspection groups in the petroleum sector and divided the work among the municipal and provincial departments of Mines and Energy. The groups are composed of local officials who will instruct owners about safety and legal standards,” Sour said.
The ministry said it had been working on some standard legal letters and technical standards to ensure safety and effective management of petroleum.
The letters include the law, circulars about safety regulations and control measures for storing and handling petroleum and fuel and prakas on technical safety and risk management.
Legal standards and requirements for establishing new stations or renovating old ones are also included in the letters, all of which were made to minimise the risk of fire.
“For the next step, activities in the petroleum sector will be evaluated by inspection groups according to the law, legal standard letters and technical regulations in place.
“Inspection officials have the legal authority to stop illegal activities and offences in the petroleum sector and punish owners accordingly. They have that capacity as judicial police inspectors,” the ministry said.
