More than 4,800 illegal connections on oil pipelines in Nigeria discovered by NNPCL

According to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), it has found over 4,800 illicit connections on the nation’s oil pipelines, painting a dismal picture of the main source of income for the nation.

On our pipes, there are more than 4,800 unauthorised connections. The Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL Mele Kyari said the Senate Committee on Appropriations on Friday that this indicates that there are up to 300 insertions on some lines, within 100 kilometres of pipelines.

Therefore, even if you manage to create the oil, you will not be able to deliver it at the necessary pressure, which would result in a decrease in volume.
People from all around the nation, according to the head of NNPCL, swarm to Nigeria’s oil-producing Niger Delta region to install illicit connections on pipelines.

The most recent event occurred around a year after the company found 295 unauthorised connections to their pipeline, which increased the scope of Nigeria’s widespread crude oil theft.

Kyari said two years ago that theft and vandalism were stealing 200,000 barrels of oil worth $13 million every day from the nation.

“Our products account for one set of losses, while crude oil accounts for the other,” he stated. “There has been and continues to be crude losses. Every day, we lose 200,000 barrels of crude on average.

Following the finding, the security forces in Nigeria pledged to increase pipeline security. Tantita Security Services, under the direction of former militant leader Government Ekpemepulo alias Tompolo, was given a multibillion naira pipeline surveillance deal by the Federal Government in an effort to bolster security on the pipelines.

The move was criticised, but Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, the minister of state for petroleum, thinks it was the right one.

“We will be doing a lot more work, but I also want to take this opportunity to thank Tantita, who has been commissioned by the NNPCL,” he stated in August during a visit of Niger Delta oil installations.

With changes to taxes, royalties, and regulations, the Petroleum Industry Bill was a new law that was passed in 2021 after years of discussion and delays. Its goal was to increase international investment in the oil industry.