By Clara Nwachukwu

Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR, yesterday, sealed the depots of MRS Oil and Gas, Obat Petroleum and Ascon Nigeria Limited for allegedly selling above the regulated ex-depot prices.

Accordingly, the petroleum industry regulator has made good its recent warnings to marketers a forth night ago against taking advantage of the current fuel supply shortages to fleece customers.

Apart from the depots, many of the retail outlets have also taken advantage of the situation to sell above the regulated N97/litre pump price, as motorists call on the DPR to also clamp down on the outlets.

In statement in Lagos, the DPR said: “Sequel to our recent Annual General Meeting, AGM, held with Depot Operators/Marketers, during which the Department warned that appropriate sanctions would be meted out to enforce compliance for violations, including the sale of petrol, PMS, above approved prices, we have commenced the sealing of identified depots.

“The PMS delivery arms of the under listed depots were today (yesterday) sealed indefinitely by the Department: MRS Oil and Gas Ltd, Obat Petroleum Ltd and Ascon Nig Ltd.”

The statement, signed by the agency’s Deputy Director, Public Affairs, Mrs. B. Osibodu, said: “This action was based on credible information received on the depots, which confirmed that they were selling PMS above approved prices.”

The industry regulator did not, however, disclose how much the three depots were selling, but the approved ex-depot prices posted on the official website of the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency,