The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has decried the unending spate of pipeline-hacking and petroleum product theft in some parts of the country.
This is contained in a statement signed by the corporation’s Acting Group General Manager, Mr Fidel Pepple, and made available the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Wednesday.
According to Pepple, pipeline vandals are currently posing a great danger to the efficient distribution and supply of petroleum products in some parts of the country.
He condemned the recent pipeline break in the Ije-ododo community in Ojo Local Government Area of Lagos State
“If left unchecked, the nefarious activities of pipeline vandals could cripple the smooth operation of the downstream sector of the industry,’’ Pepple said.
He said the corporation had been compelled to shut the line owing to Monday’s attack on the Ije-ododo point, shortly after extensive repair work on the ruptured Arepo point.
“We had over 774 break points since August 2012 from Atlas Cove to Ilorin depot. Between Atlas Cove and Mosimi depot, we recorded 181 break points, from Mosimi to Ibadan.
“We had 421 ruptured points from Mosimi to Ore, and we recorded 50 vandalised points.
Also, between Ibadan and Ilorin, we had a total of 122 break points,’’ the NNPC acting Group General Manager said.
He said in spite of the challenge posed by the shut-down of the system 2B line, following the attack, the corporation remains optimistic however.
Pepple said this was because the NNPC would not want Nigerians to suffer undue hardship during the yuletide season.
“We have a fallback strategy, which we have already activated, to ensure an uninterrupted supply of products.
“Don’t forget that we had the worst time when the line was shut down completely in August after the Arepo incident.
“But we have restored the line and it started working and Nigerians felt the impact, only for the vandals to strike again. But we will do our best to sustain supply,’’ he said.
Pepple called on all Nigerians at the community, local government and state government levels to ensure the protection of pipelines and report the activities of vandals.