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The National Petroleum Authority (NPA) has closed down 45 fuel stations in the country due to non-compliance with some regulatory and technical requirements.

A further 37 have been earmarked for closure when the level of stocks reduces to appropriate levels within the safety zone.

Mr Alhassan Tampuli, Chief Executive Officer, NPA, who disclosed this at the launch of the national petroleum safety campaign in Accra, said 26 fuel outlets have been re-opened after comprehensive inspections by the Inspections and Monitoring Unit of the Authority.

According to him, the measures form part of directives by the President, Nana Akufo-Addo, to prevent and reduce the incidence of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) explosion, following a gas explosion incident last month at Atomic Junction in Accra.

Themed “People Safety First”, the campaign, he noted was intended to raise awareness of safety protocols in the petroleum downstream and to educate the public on their role in preventing fires at all petroleum installations and other locations in the country.

To further intensify the new operational guidelines, Mr Tampuli said the NPA has constituted a committee to oversee the activities of the task force that would conduct risk assessment of existing LPG infrastructure in the country.

He said the NPA was currently developing the implementation strategy for the Cylinder Recirculation Model of LPG distribution, which was expected to be rolled out next year, adding that the Authority would publish the licensing requirements for setting up LPG Bottling Plants.

Mr Boakye Agyarko, Minister of Energy, said the campaign was necessary to sensitise the public on ensuring safety in handling petroleum products and addressing recent surge in LPG explosions.

He urged industry players to take the initiative of formulating industry safety standards through industry associations and peer review each other and sanction members who were not keeping with accepted practices.

In line with the NPA’s efforts to intensify their inspection regime, Mr Agyarko said the ministry has given the Authority the green light to partner with relevant stakeholders to deploy 200 safety auditors to augment the already existing ones to ensure safety standards were upheld at the various fuel outlets.

He urged the public to eliminate complacency when handling petroleum products to avoid putting lives and properties at risk.