By Ikugbadi Oluwasegun
Mele Kyari, Managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) said there are over 4,800 illegal connections on crude oil pipelines within the Niger – Delta Region, which could frustrate the projections of the Federal Government.
The NNPC boss made this statement on Friday when speaking at Senate Committee on Appropriation on the proposed budget for 2024, He described oil theft and vandalism in the Niger Delta region as a calamity.
Kyari said that the daily oil production would depend greatly on the security situation in the oil rich Niger -Delta region, describing the act of vandalism and oil theft going on there as a calamity and completely abnormal.
He said, “The situation we have in Niger Delta in terms of security is a calamity. We don’t have that anywhere in the world. To engage non state actors as last resort as solution is abnormal. But we have to respond abnormally.
“You have over 4,800 illegal connections on our pipelines. That means, within every kilometer, you have an insertion. Even if you seal all the insertions, you can’t get what you want in terms of production. In the Niger Delta, people are coming from all parts of the country to do illegal refining. That’s why we engage locals to deal with it. We will contain this challenge. We are doing everything possible to restore sanity. What is happening is a colossal damage to the environment and the host communities.” he added.