Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) on Wednesday said that it had recorded a total of 45,347 pipeline breaks on its downstream network between 2001 and mid-2019.
The Group Managing Director (GMD), Malam Mele Kyari, stated this at the Nigeria International Pipeline Technology and Security Conference, in Abuja.
Speaking as a guest, Kyari said: “Between 2001 to half year 2019, NNPC has recorded a total of 45, 347 pipeline breaks on its downstream pipeline network.
“The cost of vandalism, which include fatalities, loss of revenue, asset and environmental degradation, affects everyone.
“Lost revenue, possible loss of employment, collateral damage to national image, loss of investor confidence etc will obviously affect everyone in the long run,’’ he said.
The GMD also said that in 2018, a total of 19 fire incidents were recorded on the petroleum products pipelines.
This, he said, remained a challenge stakeholders must come together to find a lasting solution to, in order to end the menace.
Kyari said that importance of pipelines could not be over emphasised, adding that when there are no pipelines to transport petroleum products, the alternative is to transport by trucks.
He said that the high number of trucks involved in daily transportation of products over long distances contributed to highway accidents and deterioration of the nation’s road network.
“Based on Federal Road Safety Corps estimate, Nigeria has lost about N7.157 billion to road traffic accidents involving 116 petroleum product tankers during the first half of 2018,’’ he said.
He called on all stakeholders including Pipeline professionals, communities, government institutions and industry players to tackle the menace.
Kyari said that the corporation would deploy technology, physical deterrent interventions and other soft options to arrest the menace.
He noted that some progress had been made over the last three years, but more work needed to be done.
“We have sustained awareness campaign, removed illegal structures on pipeline rights of ways, and we are deploying appropriate technology to mitigate attacks on pipelines as well as to reduce our response time to incidents,’’ he said.
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