File: Oil pipelines vandalised

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) recorded 77 per cent rise in cases of oil pipeline vandalism in its network of pipeline infrastructure across the country in June 2019.

The corporation’s Monthly Financial and Operations Report (MFOR) for the month said 106 pipeline points were breached, representing an increase from the 60 points vandalized in May 2019.

A release today in Abuja by the NNPC Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Mr. Ndu Ughamdu, explained that the Aba-Enugu axis in the system 2E pipeline corridor accounted for 25 per cent of the total pulverized points, while the Lagos Atlas Cove-Mosimi axis of the system 2B had 23 per cent of the compromised pipeline points.

The release said the Ibadan-Ilorin leg of the System 2B pipeline accounted for 18 per cent of affected lines, followed by the PHC-Aba section of the system 2E which was responsible for 13 per cent of the affected pipeline, adding that other areas accounted for the remaining 21 per cent of cumulative line breaks.

The monthly report, which is part of the corporation’s strategies to open its operations, activities and finances to the public, stated that in spite of the wanton breaches of it critical pipeline network during the period, the corporation ensured continuous fuel supply and effective distribution across the country, saying that during the month under review, 1.76bn litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), translating to 58.65million liters/day were supplied and effectively distributed.

It noted that to sustain the adequate products supply and distribution in the Downstream Sector, the NNPC had continue to monitor the daily stock of PMS across the nation.

In the gas sub-sector, the June report stated that 223.98billion Cubic Feet (BCF) of natural gas was produced in the month under review, translating to an average daily production of 7,466.09million Standard Cubic Feet Per Day (mmscfd). The figure posted a slight increase of 0.11 per cent compared with the previous month’s gas production.

For the period June 2018 to June 2019, a total of 3,063.89BCF of gas was produced representing an average daily production of 7,873.58mmscfd during the period.

Period-to-date Production from Joint Ventures (JVs), Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs) and NPDC contributed about 68.93 per cent, 21.34 per cent and 9.74 per cent respectively, to the total national gas production.

The June 2019 MFOR was the 47TH in the series.