Khan: Storage tank mix-up contaminated fuel at NP station

ENERGY Minister Franklin Khan said a mix-up between two storage tanks led to the contamination of fuel at NP’s Orange Hill Gas Station in Tobago on Saturday.

He was answering questions in the Senate on Tuesday morning.

NP suspended the sale of fuel at the station on Saturday morning.

It issued a release on Monday saying the incident occurred around 10.30 am. It said, “A full investigation and analysis of the matter is being conducted as NP remains committed to ensuring this matter is resolved as quickly as possible.”

Asked by Opposition Senator Wade Mark what had led to the incident, Khan said, “Product was inadvertently discharged into the wrong storage tank. That is, super was offloaded into the diesel tank, and diesel into the super tank.

“While an investigation is still under way, it appears that the standard operating procedures were not adhered to by the driver or the station personnel.”

After the investigation, he said, the company’s management will explore a system to allow greater enforcement of standard operating procedures, retraining relevant personnel and “changes to the coupling that will eliminate the possibility of incorrect installation.

“For those of you who go to the gas station, you know the diesel pump cannot go into a gasoline pump
because of size differences. However, in terms of storage, the coupling appears to be the same.”