By: Lansana Fofanah
The downstream petroleum sector in the Republic of Guinea has recorded a devastating loss after the country’s oil depot in the Capital of Conakry was gutted by fire in the early hours of Monday 18th December 2023.
The death toll from the disaster continues to rise as health officials battle to save those caught in the fire.
The relocation of the Anvil Fuel Depot has been a major talking point for successive governments in Guinea since the once-isolated environment has now been transformed into an industrial and residential hub in the country.
Already, the impact of the destruction has been felt in Guinea due to the shortage of products. This will have a spillover effect in Sierra Leone in terms of fuel supply as it will take some time to reconstruct those damaged facilities and get them running.
The Petroleum Regulatory Agency should pay close attention and monitor the flow of fuel products to Guinea since smugglers and hoarders will tend to exploit the crisis in Guinea where fuel is currently becoming a scarce commodity.
The Guinea incident has awakened fresh memories of the ugly fuel tanker explosion on the 5th of November 2021 in Sierra Leone’s capital Freetown which caused lives and properties.
Before the Wellington incident, there had been a series of explosions at the Kissy Oil Terminal in the past.
The Kissy Terminal which hosts all the oil marketing companies and their operations is now surrounded by residential dwellers who seem to pay less attention to their well-being and safety warnings despite knowing the potential danger of living near such hazardous products.
It is obvious that it would be a daunting task to relocate the Kissy terminal from its current environment due to the financial implications and its strategic locations.
However, the Government must not wait for something disastrous to happen before an action is taken.
Relocating those living around the terminal is imminent and should not be seen as an opportunity for illegal occupants who have no claim over those properties to enrich themselves.
Another valuable lesson one can learn from the Guinea disaster is that the petroleum sector should be decentralized. Having a single port where importation of fuel is done is a major risk factor when such an unfortunate situation occurs.
