ISLAMABAD
The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) on Friday fined a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell to pay about 257 million rupees ($2.4 million) in damages and compensation for the tanker explosion that killed 217 people on 25th of June, near Bahawalpur.
A copy of the report on the June 25 explosion held Shell Pakistan Ltd responsible for the massive blast in Ahmedpur Sharqia after a tanker carrying gasoline for company rolled over.
At least 217 people were killed and many injured after local villagers had gathered to collect the fuel spilling from the tanker.
The oil tanker overturned on the main highway while travelling from Karachi to Lahore, near the town of Ahmadpur East in Punjab province.
In its report on Friday, the energy regulator ordered Shell Pakistan to pay a penalty of 10 million rupees. In addition, the regulator ordered the company to pay one million rupees in compensation to the families of each of those killed and half a million for each person injured.
OGRA findings revealed that the oil tanker carrying the product was not matching the standards specified by the rules of the land.
Moreover, the company did not meet the requirements of the explosive department and fitness certificate provided by the transporter was also rendered fake. Besides this, the vehicle failed to fulfill the standard of the rules specified by the OGRA as the tanker carrying 50,000 liters of petrol had four axels instead of five.
After the tanker spill-over, there was no local administration and following the incident, even the police failed to reach on time. Even the National Highway Authority police had not cordoned off the area.
However, the IG Motorway said it was not the duty of the Motorway police to cordon off the area.
If Shell Company failed to pay the fine, it would be dealt with the procedure defined by the regulatory authority.
The Ogra report attributed the ignition of fire to a lack of awareness among the general public and the lack or delay in response from the local government and motorway police to cordon off the area.
The SPL also failed to submit a detailed report, only submitting a short preliminary one.
The report recommended greater vigilance regarding safety standards for oil manufacturing companies, also asking them for a “timeline action plan for conversion of tank lorries of their contractor/haulier to the applicable safety laws and regulations”.
It recommended the Oil Companies Advisory Committee to ensure an aggressive campaign to make the public aware of hazards, and the local governments and departments to revisit their plans for patrolling and quick response.
