Mele Kyari, Group Chief Executive Officer of Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), announced the discovery of an illegal 4km pipeline from forcados in Delta State, Southern Nigeria.
According to Bizwatch Nigeria, Kyari stated that the illegal pipeline and loading port had been operational for the past nine years.
Kyari announced while testifying before a joint Senate committee on Upstream, Downstream, and Gas. He regretted that, even though oil theft has been occurring in Nigeria for over 22 years, the rate at which it has recently increased was unprecedented.
As a result of the high incidence of crude oil theft, he claims that three operating facilities, including the Forcados, Bonny, and Brass oil terminals, have been closed down.
The GCEO of NNPC Limited also said that there has been a spill site in Bori village in Rivers state, Southern Nigeria, in the previous six weeks, which may impair the operations of the Trans Nembe pipeline if not controlled. He went on to say that the spill has cost the government 120,000 barrels of oil each day, on top of the hundreds of illicit refineries in the country.
Kyari went on to say that during the crackdown, the business destroyed 350 illicit refineries, 273 timber, 374 reservoirs, 1561 metal tanks, and over 49 confiscated trucks, among other things.
According to him, the consequences of the damage are greater than the devastation caused by the Ogoni leakage in the impacted areas, which has destroyed agriculture and fishery.
He explained that in addressing the menace, NNPCL carried out aerial surveillance of the affected areas, and observed that the economic saboteurs carry out their activities unchallenged.
After over four hours of the interface, the lawmakers proposed that capital punishment be put in place for offenders, which will be presented at plenary for consideration. The committee also resolved to embark on oversight of Port Harcourt and Warri Refineries to verify NNPC’s claims of rehabilitation.
