LAGOS: The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) said it had come up with a strategy for the automation and digitisation of all approvals, permits and licences issued in the downstream division under the Automated Downstream System.
According to the DPR, the ADS is made up of permits and licences issued in the Retail Outlet and Marketing, the Products, Depots and Jetties and the Hydrocarbon Processing Plants units.
It said the implementation was phased, with online processing of Category A, B, C Licences starting first and followed by Coastal Vessel Licence.
Application for Category A, B, C Licenses comprises Category A (petroleum storage licence), Category B (petroleum storage and sales licence) and Category C (kerosene peddling licence).
The agency said it was consolidating the gains achieved on central electronic licence and permit system, a repository system for managing the application and processing of all electronic permits and licences processed and issued by it.
It said part of the vision of the Director, DPR, Mr. Mordecai Ladan, was for all paper-based approvals, permits, and licences to be digitised and automated.
According to the DPR, committees were set up by the PDJ and ROM units with the mandate to design, develop and implement an online application system for processing of Coastal Vessel Licence and Category A, B and C licences.
The committees with the vendors selected by the DPR to come up with online solutions, called Retail Outlet Management System Portal for Category A, B, C Licences and Coastal Vessel Licence Portal for coastal vessel licences.
According to a statement, the portal for coastal licence is integrated with the CBN Payment Gateway (Remita) for online payment using debit/credit cards and bank branch payment in compliance with the Federal Government’s Treasury Single Account policy.
“With the old manual system, application of Coastal Vessel Licence has been cumbersome and takes time before approvals, permits and licences are issued to qualified marketers. The new system implemented now makes it easy for marketers to apply for Coastal Vessel Licence and Category A, B, and C licences from anywhere and anytime.”
The portals, according to the DPR, involve the automation of the application process, payments, inspections, presentations, approvals and inventory of issued permits and licences.
“This will ensure accountability and a work flow that track every stage in the approval process on the portals. Online verification of permits and licences is made available to both the general public and the DPR through the portals,” it said.
The agency said the portals complied with the Executive Order issued by the Federal Government on ease of doing business, adding that it would improve the turnaround time as well as ease processing applications for licences.
It said the portals would eliminate the duplication of document upload and work across its zonal offices; improve ease of payment confirmation and reconciliation; reduce the cost of printing manual permits/licences; and reduce the influx of employees of companies applying for licences, among other benefits.
“Adopting this solution will continue to establish the DPR’s commitment to change and innovation in the face of technological advancements under the leadership of the director. We enjoin all to use these portals and support the ongoing process in the digitisation and automation of all permits and licences,” the DPR added.
(Guardian)
