Oil pipelines in Niger Delta (file photo)

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, (NNPC) on Monday, said pipeline vandalism in the country had dropped to 20 per cent.

Group Managing Director of the corporation, Mr Maikanti Baru, said this at the opening of the 2017 Nigerian Oil and Gas Conference in Abuja.

He said that vandalism cases dropped from 58 per cent recorded in December, 2016, adding that the reduction in the incidents had been on daily basis.

Baru attributed the decrease in the cases to renewed effort of the corporation in combating oil theft and to ongoing stakeholders’ engagement in the Niger Delta by the Federal Government.

According to him, the operating environment has greatly improved compared to what obtained in the past.

‘‘We will continue to improve on our existing approach to engage stakeholders and indigenes of Niger Delta on the need to embrace peace and dialogue.

“We shall continue with our existing approach with a view to move the country forward and to shore up government revenue.

“This is an indication of friendly environment for business,” he said.

The NNPC boss lauded the initiative of the organizers of the event, CWC Group Limited, in spite of the current situation in the nation’s oil and gas sector.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that NNPC had in its December, 2016 edition of its monthly report said that it recorded about 58 per cent reduction in cases of pipeline sabotage.

According to the report, only 18 cases of vandalized points on downstream pipelines were recorded in November, 2016 as against 43 in the previous month.

The downward trend in the cases of pipeline sabotage, according to the report, was due to sustained engagement with stakeholders by the Federal Government and the NNPC.