ISLAMABAD - The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) has imposed an accumulative penalty of over Rs250 million on Shell Pakistan Limited (SPL), holding it responsible for the Bahawalpur oil tanker tragedy that claimed over 200 lives and injured over 100 others.

The vehicle contracted by Shell’s local subsidiary crashed on a main highway in Ahmedpur East while carrying some 50,000 litres of fuel from Karachi to Lahore on June 25. It exploded minutes later, sending a fireball through crowds from a nearby village who had gathered to scavenge for the spilled fuel, despite warnings by the driver and police to stay away.

Health officials and police Friday put the death toll, which has continued to rise since the accident, at 218 people and said 38 victims were still in hospital, some in critical condition.

"The report shows that they have completely ignored the safety standards of the vehicles procured from the contractors," Ogra spokesman Imran Ghaznavi told Reuters, referring to Shell Pakistan.

Ghaznavi said Ogra had sent a list of 21 questions to Shell Pakistan about the accident but had not yet received an answer.

Ogra’s investigation found that Shell never checked if the private tanker it had hired complied with safety standards, according to a report seen by AFP.

The report said that Shell had informed the authority previously that its lorries met technical standards and that they upgrade contracted vehicles. It lambasted Shell Pakistan’s emergency response as “casual”.The company has the right to appeal against the fine and compensation demand.

The Ogra said the SPL has failed to fulfill its legal responsibility under the Ogra Ordinance 2002 and the Pakistan Oil Rules, 2016 for transporting petroleum products through tank lorries.

The Ogra also directed the SPL to pay Rs10 million in a penalty, and Rs1 million each to the families of deceased and Rs0.5 million to the injured.

The Ogra has further ordered the SPL to deposit the penalty within three working days after receiving the order.

After the June 25 tragedy in Ahmedpur Sharqian-Bahawalpur, the Ogra had deputed Third Party Inspectors (TPIs) to investigate the incident. The probe team came with a report stating that although the oil tanker had been outsourced, still the responsibility of maintaining standards lay with the Shell since it was the licensee of Ogra.

According to the investigation report, the tanker did not meet the technical standards required to carry 50,000 litres of petrol and it did not meet Ogra’s regulations and was also carrying a fake fitness certificate.

The report also said that lack of awareness among the public, the local government and motorways police delayed response to cordon off the site of the incident and it was also instrumental in failing to ward off the unfortunate incident.

According to the report, the tank lorry (TLJ-352) was hired by the SPL from its hauler, Marwat Enterprises. The said tank lorry had been found to be non-compliant to the Pakistan Petroleum Rules 1937. It was reported that the Ogra has notified technical standards for road transport vehicle, container, and equipment for transportation of petroleum and they are latest international/stringent standards.

“Whereas the said tank lorry was even not in compliance with the basic CIE requirement, therefore, it becomes evident that said tank lorry was also not in compliance with the Ogra technical standards/guidelines,” the report said.

Similarly, it was also found that the tank lorry had 4 axles; therefore, it was not compliant with the NHSO-2000, which requires five axles. Similarly, the SPL has provided a certificate of fitness by the motor vehicle examiner issued under Quetta (Annexure-VIII). However, the same was fake as confirmed by the Chief Minister Investigation Team (CMIT), Punjab, the report said.

The SPL has failed to provide the pre-load checklist of their own company. Instead, they have submitted their hauler’s — Marwat Enterprises — checklist, the report said. “If the same was in place or exercised/monitored in actual, the said lorry could have been denied for loading the product by the SPL,” the report said.

Although the SPL provided a short preliminary report, it failed to provide a detailed report within prescribed time advised by the Ogra, the report said.

In view of the probe, the Ogra is of the considered opinion that the SPL has failed to fulfil its legal responsibility under the Ogra Ordinance 2002 and the Pakistan Oil (Refining, Blending, Transportation, Storage, and Marketing) Rules, 2016 and other applicable Law/Rules in field for transporting the petroleum products through tank lorries, the Ogra order said.

“The authority in the exercise of the powers has decided to impose a penalty of Rs10 million on the SPL, which shall be deposited by the company within three working days of receipt of this order.

The SPL shall pay compensation of Rs1.0 million each to the deceased and Rs0.5 million to the injured,” it said.

SPL shall comply with the above decision, failing which the authority would be constrained to initiate a proceeding against the company to impose a further penalty or any other strict action under the law/rules interalia including suspension of marketing activity.

Talking about the future roadmap, the authority recommended that all tank lorries for transporting petroleum products to be manufactured in line with applicable safety laws/rules and regulations. In this regard, Oil Companies Advisory Committee (OCAC) shall shortlist/approve the manufacturing companies based on the best international practices and no vehicles made by the companies other than those shortlisted/approved by the OCAC be put in oil transport service.

The tank lorry to be used/added in the fleet of any OMC if the same is certified by OCAC’s approved TPIs.

Each OMC to strictly monitor/ensure the preload checklist including all safety requirements under the Petroleum Rules 1937 and any other safety regulation in force. OMCs to ensure that each tank lorry operating in the business of transporting petroleum products is manufactured in the light of relevant OGRA’s notified technical standards and the applicable Rules interalia including Petroleum Rules, 1937.

Each OMC to ensure the proper training/certification of tank lorries’ drivers to handle emergencies and spills. In addition, Medical Fitness of the drivers/attendants be carried out on regular intervals, in particular, checking use of intoxicant and only medically fit drivers be allowed to drive the vehicles.

Each OMC to furnish a time line action plan for conversion of tank lorries of their contractor/hauler to the applicable safety Laws/Rules and Regulations as explained above, in the shortest possible time and till then minimum safety measures to be ensured.

The OCAC to ensure an aggressive awareness campaign on regular basis in the Print and Electronic media for the potential danger to the public life and property.

The National Highway Authority to ensure the checking/monitoring of NHSO-2000 and Local/Motorway Police to revisit their plans for effective patrolling and quick response to containing spills and keeping the general public/mob away from the site of such accidents to avoid a loss to the life and property. Civil Defense Department of the provincial governments may consider inclusion of regular drills to respond to similar emergencies.

Motor Vehicle Examiner to revisit their SOP and ensure that tank lorries are in compliance with all the applicable Safety Laws/Rules and Regulations, prior to granting fitness certificate the subject tank lorries.

The report further said that Ogra to take stringent measures to ensure implementation of the Ogra notified technical standards for transportation of petroleum through TPIs or on its own.

Meanwhile, an SPL spokesperson said: "Shell Pakistan is presently reviewing the Ogra report in detail. It would be unhelpful to speculate on factors that may have contributed to the incident whilst other investigations are still ongoing, but we respect the role of the regulator and will consider the report as we cooperate with investigations by authorities and as we conduct our own investigation.”

A separate government inquiry into police conduct was being carried out, said Punjab government spokesman Malik Muhammed Ahmed Khan.

The chairwoman of the Ogra, Uzma Adil Khan, said many fuel companies were not meeting safety requirements introduced in 2009, and the regulatory body had been slow to enforce them. "This incident is certainly a wake-up call for all of us," she said.

The vice chairman of the Pakistan's oil tankers association, Zaman Khan, said the accident last month was an anomaly. "Tankers meet international standards," he said.