28 November 2012, Sweetcrude, Abuja – Nigeria is losing about N105 billion to pipeline vandalism annually, according to the Nigerian
presidency.
A top official of the presidency who spoke to journalists, Sunday,
said the nation was in danger of escalating fuel scarcity as a result
of the activities of pipeline vandals across the country.
“The current fuel supply and distribution situation being experienced
by Nigerians is traceable to recent vandalism of our products pipeline
at Arepo; where Pipelines and Products Marketing Company engineers,
who went for repairs were shot and three of them killed. As a result
of security challenges, PPMC is yet to gain access to the vandalised
points to effect repairs,” the source said.
One of these points was identified as the one “along the Atlas
Cove-Mosimi line that feeds five depots and accounts for products
supply to the whole of the South-west region and also contributes to
about 60 per cent of total bridging to the North.”
The source said with the extensive land mass of the country and its
huge population, it was difficult to effectively manage the supply and
distribution of petroleum products across the country using trucks,
noting that once the pipelines were secured, the nation would be
guaranteed stable and steady supply and distribution of petroleum
products.
It was gathered that about $9 billion assets were lying fallow as a
result of the menace of pipeline vandalism but that “the present
management of PPMC since it took over about 20 months ago is doing all
it can to resuscitate some of these abandoned pipelines.
The source added: “PPMC is ready to pump all products to the Depots
located in all regions of the country. It is only when the pipelines
are not available that they are compelled to use other methods to make
the products available. In the absence of security, the vandals have a
field day and prevent the pipelines from functioning effectively. PPMC
has re-commissioned Kaduna-Suleja line, Kaduna-Kano line, Suleja-Minna
line, Kaduna-Gusau line, Kaduna-Jos line and Port Harcourt-Aba line
and Warri-Benin line.
“With these lines functioning, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation
(NNPC) have been able to distribute products to Suleja, Kano, Minna,
Jos, Gusau and Aba depots. Some of these depots have not worked for
about 15 years. It is noteworthy that in spite of the numerous
challenges facing the NNPC in maintaining pipelines, products like AGO
and DPK that have not been pumped to these depots have been achieved,”
he explained.
“The successes achieved with the re-activation and rehabilitation of
the above mentioned lines is rooted in the strong belief that the
pipelines are by far the safest, most efficient, quickest, cost
effective means to distribute products especially for a country as
large as ours,” the source stated.
“With our bad roads, robbers and environmental considerations in
having the trucks travel length and breadth of this large country,
what effects can that achieve?”.
