By Oscarline Onwuemenyi

The Petroleum Equalisation Fund (Management) Board, PEF(M)B, has announced the successful test-run of its new electronic-loading solution initiated by the Board to monitor the delivery of petroleum products in all depots across the country. According to a statement signed by the General Manager, Corporate Services of PEF(M)B, Mr. Goddy Nnadi, and made available to our correspondent in Abuja, the tests were simultaneously undertaken at three loading depots in Lagos, namely Total Nigeria Plc, Conoil Nigeria Plc and Ejigbo depot of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

It stated that, “The tests involved successful tagging of marketers’ truck with readable-writable tags and seamlessly establishing contact between the tag and the Board’s computer network, using handheld Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) devices.” Nnadi added that the testing exercise was witnessed by stakeholders in the industry at the respective depots, as well as consultants, trainers and staff of the Board led by the Executive Secretary, Mrs. Adefunke Sharon Kasali.

Mrs. Kasali, who performed the official tagging of the truck at the Total facility was ecstatic, as the Board will be making history as the first agency in the downstream sector to implement such an electronic-loading solution to monitor loading and delivery of petroleum products. It will be recalled that the PEF(M)B pioneered the electronic payment (e-payment) system in the public service, which has become the norm in both public and private sectors in the country.

The statement further noted that over 200 staff of the Fund have also been trained on the application of the software, adding that deployment of the technology would begin in earnest by May, 2011. Kasali noted that the new electronic solution would bring more efficiency and effectiveness in determining the volume of petroleum products bridged across the country, including accruals to the marketers and transporters and also facilitate payment accordingly.

She said, “The new project is expected to enhance monitoring of distribution of petroleum products and speed up the processing and payment of marketers’ claims. Project Aquila will bring about speed, efficiency, transparency and accuracy in product movement and claims settlement.” She added that, “In the past, processing of claims was done manually with the physical movement of files from one location to another causing delay which impacts the marketers’ businesses adversely.