By Olugbenga Salami
Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, has said that there are 4,800 illegal connections on over 5,000 kilometres of oil pipelines across the country.
The Group Chief Executive Officer, GCEO of the NNPCL, Mele Kyari disclosed this on Friday during an interface with the members of the Senate Committee on Appropriations on the workability of 1.78million oil production per day and $77.96 oil price benchmark for the 2024 budget.
According to him, the oil component of the budgetary projections are realistic and realisable despite the fact that the country presently produces average of 1.5million barrels of oil per day.
He, however, on the disclosure made by Senator Konbowei Friday Benson (PDP Bayelsa Central) that he like every other Niger Deltan, can distill or refine oil, told the committee members that the situation in Niger Delta in terms of security, is a calamity.
“As it is today, about 4,800 illegal connections are made on the over 5,000 oil pipelines across the country.
“The illegal connections on oil pipelines in the Niger Delta is so rampant that within 100kilometres of the affected pipelines, 300 insertions are made on them, which eventually made the pipes to be weak to the point of not being able to hold pressure of oil pumped , let alone, delivering it to targeted destination.
“Additionally, it is abnormal to engage non-state actors to protect critical assets like oil pipeline. We have however responded abnormally and getting results, because unlike as it was in July 2022 when less than 1.2million barrels of oil were produced by day, it has been 1.5million barrels per day within the last two to three months,” Kyari stressed.
When pointedly asked by the chairman of the committee , Senator Solomon Adeola (APC Ogun West) if the projected oil production per day could be jerked up to 1.8million from 1.78million, he said the projections and parameters set in the proposed budget, are okay for NNPCL and realisable.
The NNPCL boss also informed the committee members that the 1.78million barrels per day oil production for the 2024 budget , include condensate which are 200 , 000 to 300,000 barrels per day.
He added that as a fully commercial entity now, the NNPCL, between July and November this year, remitted N406billion into the Federation Account as dividends.
In his remarks at the end of the interface, the chairman of the committee, Senator Solomon Adeola said Kyari has strengthened their convictions on workability of the assumptions and projections of the 2024 budgetary proposals.
