Nigeria's state-owned oil company, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation...
Nigeria's state-owned oil company, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), has reported a significant decline in attacks on the country's oil pipelines.
NNPC Group Managing Director Funsho Kupolokun attributed the positive trend to a "high-profile engagement of stakeholders and security operatives." He said attacks on oil pipelines by vandals seeking to siphon and sell crude oil and refined products had declined by as much as 90 per cent. "The nation had witnessed an upsurge in cases of pipeline vandalism with recorded figures rising from seven in 1995 to over 900 in 2000, but declined significantly in recent years due to more active involvement of stakeholders," Kupolokun said.
He said the corporation suffered setbacks last December in its efforts to stabilise the supply and distribution of petroleum products across the country due largely to a resurgence in the activities of vandals, especially in the southeastern part of the country.
Kupolokun said the corporation had provided security operatives to police its "right of way" at the beginning of the year and that the move had resulted in appreciable decrease in pipeline vandalism.
The NNPC boss said about 386,000 barrels of crude had been cut off since May last year due to pipeline vandalism at Escravos, near Warri in the oil-producing Niger Delta region. But he announced that the repair of the damaged pipeline had almost been completed.
Explosions and fires from vandalised pipelines claimed more than 2,000 lives and destroyed property worth billions of naira in the Niger Delta between 1998 and 2003.
Under the country's laws, anyone convicted of pipeline vandalism faces a 21-year jail term.
