NNPC Recorded 3,571 Cases Of Vandalism In 2013

The Nigerian National Pe
troleum Corporation NNPC has revealed that a total of 3,571 cases of pipeline breaks were recorded in 2013 and attributed them to the activities of vandals and oil theft in the country.
Group Managing Director of the corporation, Dr Joseph Dawha, made this disclosure while speaking at the 2014 conference of the National Association of Energy Correspondent (NAEC) held in Lagos last Thursday.
He said within a period of 15 years covering 1999-2014, a total of 30,047 pipeline vandalism cases were recorded.
Noting that the corporation recorded the highest number of vandalism last year, the GMD of NNPC attributed the huge records  of pipeline breaks and ruptures to crisis in the sector, especially between the Niger Delta region.
Dawha, who was represented at the event by the Executive Director, Commercial, Pipelines and Products, Marketing Company Limited, a subsidiary of NNPC,  Francis Amego, expressed worry that the high rate of vandalism has resulted in huge loss of revenue by the government and production capacity by the country.
He also noted that the situation had led to high cost of operations and deterioration of the refinery system.
He remarked that the theme of the conferences “Pipeline Vandalism and its Socio-Economic Effects on the Economy,” was apt in view of the problems the issue had caused the country.
The NNPC boss explained that government had committed huge money to the repair of the pipelines to ensure distribution of petroleum products from one point to another and stressed the need for government to improve on the development of critical infrastructure and key protection resources in line with that of the United States of America.
“The pipeline vandalism hot spots are Warri, Escraoes,  Port Harcourt, Ibadan, Ore Mosimi, Atlas Core in Lagos, Calabar and Kaduna”, he said, remarking that the development resulted in disruption of crude oil supply to the refineries.
In his own contribution, the commander, Joint Task Force, Operation Pulo Shield, Major-General-Emmanuel Atuwe, said the issue of vandalism should be tackled culturally, psychologically and economically.
The JTF commander advocated for severe punishment to oil thieves to deter others from the act of vandalism.
He also stressed the need to address the challenges of unemployment, noting that establishment of more refineries would lead to creation of more employment and bring more indigenes of the oil producing areas into gainful employment.
He called for more collaboration among the security agencies responsible for the Port Harcourt of the nation’s pipelines