Aside from corrupt practices and embezzlement of public funds, crude oil pipeline sabotage is another menace in Nigeria’s economy.
Meeting the expected daily quota would be impossible with over 4,800 illegal connections to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) oil pipelines.
Stealing of unrefined crude products in the Niger Delta is a lucrative venture for the thieves. This explains why there are many illegal connections on oil pipelines.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, is of this opinion.
Kyari appeared before the Senate Committee on Appropriations on Friday. At that meeting, he lamented that the illegal connections to the NNPCL oil pipelines were too much.
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“The illegal connections on oil pipelines in the Niger Delta are so rampant that within 100 kilometres of the affected pipelines, 300 insertions are made on them.”
He said this has eventually made the pipes to be weak.
According to him, “about 4,800 illegal oil refiners have connected pipelines on NNPCL’s 5,000 kilometres oil pipeline across the country”.
“This eventually makes the pipe weak to the point of not being able to hold the pressure of oil pumped, let alone, delivering it to targeted destination,” Mr Kyari said.
The Not Advisable Route
He said it is not advisable to engage illegal refiners to protect the pipeline of the NNPCL.
However, Kyari noted that the company will adopt other methods to protect oil pipelines rather than engaging non-state actors.
”Additionally, it is abnormal to engage non-state actors to protect critical assets like oil pipelines.
“We have, however, responded abnormally and are getting results because unlike as it was in July 2022 when less than 1.2 million barrels of oil were produced per day.
“It has been 1.5 million barrels per day within the last two to three months”, he said.
Kyari assured Nigerians that NNPC Ltd would meet its projection of producing 1.78 million oil per day and the $77.96 oil price benchmark in the 2024 budget.
He said the company remitted N406 billion to the coffers of the federal government between July and November this year.
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Senate Commends NNPCL
Responding, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Sen. Adeola Olamilekan, commended the management of the NNPC Ltd.
Sen. Olamilekan said he was confident that the NNPC Ltd would deliver on its projections for the 2024 fiscal year.
Kyari had previously said oil thieves had vandalised over 5,000 kilometres of oil pipelines connecting different parts of the country.
