KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) – The Government intends to put a fuel inspectorate in place, which will have responsibility for monitoring fuel quality standards.

The development comes against the background of cases of contaminated gas discovered at several service stations across the island last year.

Minister of Science, Energy and Technology, Dr Andrew Wheatley, made the announcement at a ceremony to relaunch TOTAL Jamaica’s fuel card, held yesterday at the Spanish Court Hotel, New Kingston.

He said the Government is committed to ensuring that a robust regulatory regime is in place to govern the handling and custody of petroleum products in order to protect the interests of Jamaican businesses and customers.

“As minister, I will be sparing no effort to guarantee increased accountability on the part of all the persons in the chain of custody as fuel is transported from offshore to our retail pumps. As actors in this sector of our economy, our responsibility to the Jamaican consumers and public cannot be overstated,” he stated.

Wheatley pointed out that thousands of litres of petroleum are moved across the country on a daily basis, with 7.73 million barrels sold by marketing companies to all business segments in 2015.

“This must be managed well in order to ensure the safety and security of all stakeholders, as well as the security of the fuel,” he said.

He further urged industry players to commit to ensuring that there is no repeat of cases of contaminated gas in Jamaica.

In the meantime, Dr Wheatley commended TOTAL Jamaica for launching the fuel card, noting that the initiative will provide greater protection for customers as well as facilitate increased competition in the petroleum industry.

Minister of Transport and Mining, Michael Henry; and Ambassador of France to Jamaica, His Excellency Jean-Michel Despax, also welcomed the initiative.

The TOTAL fuel card, first introduced in October 2014, provides a convenient and flexible option for purchasing fuel.

It is available to corporate customers and is being utilised by a number of companies to control and manage their fleet.