NNPC: Oil Pipeline Vandalism Rises by 115%

Chineme Okafor in Abuja

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has said that the rate at which pipelines of major oil companies are sabotaged in Nigeria has continued to increase, stating that it rose by 115 per cent in July 2019.

In a statement issued by NNPC’s Acting Group General Manager, Public Affairs, Mr. Samson Makoji, the NNPC explained that a record number of 228 points were broken on the country’s pipelines in the month under review.

It said this information was contained in its July 2019 Monthly Financial and Operations Report (MFOR), adding that the breached lines represented an awful increase from the 106 vandalised points recorded in June 2019.

According to it, out of the vandalised points, 15 failed to be welded, while five points were ruptured.

The report also stated that the Aba to Enugu axis accounted for 35 per cent of the breaks, while Port Harcourt to Aba pipeline route recorded 22 per cent, with Ibadan to Ilorin route recording 16 per cent of the breakages.

Similarly, it said the Lagos Atlas Cove to Mosimi Zone logged 12 per cent with other locations recording the remaining 15 per cent of the breaks.

The NNPC noted in the statement that to ensure sustained supply and distribution of petrol across the country, a total of 1.73 billion litres of the product, translating to 55.74 million litres per day were supplied for the month under review, adding that it continued to diligently monitor the daily stock of fuel to ensure smooth distribution of petroleum products and zero fuel queue across the country.

In terms of gas supply, NNPC said a total of 730 million standard cubic feet of gas per day (mmscfd) was delivered to gas fired power plants in the month of July to generate an average volume of about 2,864 megawatts (MW).

It further stated that a total crude oil and gas export receipt of $390.33 million was recorded in the month as against $312.93 million earned in June 2019.

NNPC explained that the contribution from crude oil amounted to $250.35 million, while gas and miscellaneous receipts stood at $76.28 million and $63.71 million respectively.

It equally said that in July, it recorded a trading surplus of N4.26 billion compared to the N3.92 billion surpluses posted in June 2019, adding that the increase was 3.62 per cent in the month and due largely to enhanced surplus posted by the Nigerian Gas Company (NGC), as well as increased surplus recorded by the Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC).