Since the end of last year, emergency management departments in many places have successively issued relevant documents to re-clarify matters related to the licensing and supervision of refined oil products. A number of industry insiders pointed out that the timely adjustment of policies in various localities and the relaxation of the business license of refined oil hazardous chemicals will promote the marketization of refined oil products further.
The refined oil business license and regulatory policies have ushered in new changes.
Recently, the Chongqing Municipal Emergency Management Bureau issued a document to repeal the "Announcement on Canceling the Business License of Refined Oil Hazardous Chemicals without Storage Facilities", clarifying that the emergency management departments of all districts and counties shall, in accordance with the provisions of the "Measures for the Administration of Hazardous Chemicals Business Licenses" (Decree No. 55 of the former State Administration of Work Safety), issue the "Hazardous Chemicals Business License" to enterprises that meet the safety conditions and do not operate hazardous chemicals without storage facilities.
It's not just Chongqing. The reporter of "China Energy News" noted that since the end of last year, the emergency management departments of Guizhou, Sichuan, Fujian, Anhui, Hubei and other places have successively issued relevant documents to re-clarify the relevant matters related to the licensing and supervision of refined oil, and require that the refined oil business enterprises without storage facilities be allowed to handle the hazardous chemicals business license in accordance with relevant laws and regulations.
A number of industry insiders pointed out that all localities have adjusted their policies in a timely manner, and have successively loosened the business license for refined oil hazardous chemicals, and changed from pre-management to in-process and post-event supervision, which is more feasible and effective, and promotes the marketization of refined oil products further.
The policy opening is good for enterprises
At the end of 2022, after the Ministry of Emergency Management and other ten departments issued a document to include diesel in the catalogue of hazardous chemicals, the management of refined oil hazardous chemicals business licenses has become stricter.
The "Announcement on Canceling the Business License for Hazardous Chemicals for Refined Oil Without Storage Facilities" issued by the Chongqing Municipal Emergency Management Bureau in December 2022 clearly states that the refined oil business units without storage facilities in the city will not be granted a hazardous chemicals business license, and the application for the "Hazardous Chemicals Business License" by relevant units will no longer be accepted. Since then, Guizhou, Sichuan, Fujian, Anhui, Hubei and other places have issued relevant policies.
"After diesel is included in the catalogue of hazardous chemicals, all enterprises operating diesel are required to apply for hazardous chemicals certificates. However, in the process of processing, many places have set thresholds, such as requiring enterprises to have storage facilities. Many refined oil trading enterprises without storage facilities cannot apply for hazardous chemicals certificates and cannot continue to operate. Tian Minghui, general manager of Shanghai Radisson Petrochemical Co., Ltd., told China Energy News, "It is a good trend that all localities are gradually relaxing restrictions in this regard." ”
In a reply to the Guiyang Municipal Emergency Management Bureau in December last year, the Guizhou Provincial Emergency Management Department pointed out: "After consulting the Ministry of Emergency Management, the latest documents on the management of refined oil products issued by multiple departments of the state do not stipulate that hazardous chemicals business licenses shall not be issued to units operating refined oil products without storage." Local emergency management departments shall, in accordance with the provisions of the "Measures for the Administration of Hazardous Chemicals Business Licenses", issue the "Hazardous Chemicals Business License" to qualified non-stored refined oil business units. ”
"Diesel into danger is a very effective means of supervision of the refined oil market, but there is no corresponding legal and regulatory support for enterprises without storage facilities, which may produce some contradictions, so now all over the country began to loosen, to meet the requirements of the non-storage refined oil business enterprises issued hazardous chemicals certificate." A senior refined oil market researcher told the China Energy News.
Ex-ante management is transformed into ex-post supervision
In fact, driven by relevant policies, the marketization of refined oil products in the mainland has become higher and higher in recent years, and the relevant access threshold has been lowered.
In August 2019, the General Office of the State Council issued the "Opinions on Accelerating the Development of Circulation and Promoting Commercial Consumption" (Guo Ban Fa [2019] No. 42), canceling the examination and approval of the qualification of wholesale warehousing of petroleum products, delegating the examination and approval of the qualification of retail operation of refined oil to the people's governments at the prefectural and municipal levels, strengthening the supervision of the circulation of refined oil during and after the event, and strengthening the implementation of safety and security measures. In December of the same year, the Ministry of Commerce issued the Notice on Doing a Good Job in the Reform of the Management of Petroleum and Refined Oil Circulation (Shang Yun Han [2019] No. 659) to guide local governments to do a good job in the policy convergence of examination and approval cancellation and decentralization, and make it clear that the people's governments at the municipal level are responsible for the examination and approval of the qualifications of refined oil retail operations in their respective regions.
"After the cancellation of the wholesale warehousing qualification of refined oil, it is relatively easy to register a refined oil business enterprise. The country's refined oil wholesale and storage enterprises have also increased rapidly, and while the degree of marketization is higher, there are also some irregularities. The above-mentioned senior refined oil market researcher pointed out that "diesel is a means of rectification, and the previous policies of various places are also aimed at strengthening management." ”
According to Guo Jiaofeng, a researcher at the Institute of Resources and Environmental Policy of the Development Research Center of the State Council, at present, many departments in the mainland are carrying out reforms in the administrative management system, from the original emphasis on pre-examination and approval to the current supervision during and after the event, and from management functions to regulatory functions, that is, simplifying the requirements for administrative examination and approval, without too many thresholds to restrict, and more strengthening the binding role of standards and laws. "The timely adjustment of policies in various localities is a response and embodiment of 'light beforehand, heavy during and after'."
It is necessary to form a normalized supervision mechanism
The relaxation of the administrative licensing threshold does not mean the relaxation of market management. In the opinion of many industry experts, the constraints of relevant laws, regulations and standards, and the supervision and management during and after the event need to be further implemented.
For example, while Chongqing Municipality abolished the relevant documents, it also emphasized that it should focus on strengthening the supervision and management of product flow and personnel qualifications. Supervise and urge refined oil hazardous chemicals business enterprises without storage facilities to fully apply the hazardous chemicals operation safety supervision service system to realize the digital supervision of refined oil operations.
Guo Jiaofeng pointed out that some mechanisms of the original refined oil market are not perfect, and can only be solved by some relatively administrative means. Now after the threshold is relaxed, the degree of marketization of refined oil logistics circulation will be higher, but it is necessary to further strengthen the supervision during and after the event.
"After the diesel is in danger, from the legal level to restrain enterprises can not violate the regulations and requirements of dangerous goods management, but how to do it, do not formulate detailed requirements, so the requirements for equipment and facilities, transportation and other related requirements have formed some standards, these standards are currently being studied and formulated." Guo Jiaofeng said.
In Guo Jiaofeng's view, for the management of the refined oil market, in addition to heavy supervision, it is also necessary to form a regulatory mechanism of normalized supervision. "On the one hand, through laws, regulations and standards for supervision, the formation of some binding provisions, but also some binding mechanisms, it is recommended to supervise from the perspective of digital intelligence, the formation of normalized, real-time supervision, timely detection of problems, the implementation of some 'hanging on the wall provisions'. In addition, it is necessary to use modern scientific and technological means to strengthen digital and intelligent supervision and form a more efficient management model. ”
Text丨Reporter Li Ling