By Abba-Eku Onyekachi
The Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, over the weekend informed to the Senate Committee on Appropriation that there were about 4,800 illegal connections apanning over 5,000 kilometres of oil pipelines across Nigeria.
This was as Sen. Konbowei Friday Benson (PDP Bayelsa Central), claimed that he, like every other Niger Deltan, can distill oil.
Kyari made the statememt at an interface with the members of the committee on the workability of 1.78 million barrels per day productiin and $77.96 oil price benchmark for the 2024 budget over the weekend.
Kyari had in the past shunned invitations from the Senate Committee probing about N11 trilion expenditure refinary maintenance between 2010 and 2023, wh8ch forced the Senator Solomon Adeola – led Committee to issue a 24 hour ultimatum on him to appear.
Responding to questions, the NNPCL boss said the oil component of the budgetary projections were realizable, despite the fact that the country presently produces an average of 1.5 million barrels of oil per day.
He, however, while reacting to the statement made by Sen. Benson on his personal capacity to refine oil, informed that the situation in Niger Delta in terms of security, is a calamity, calling for urgent action against the current situation.
“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 100 kilometres of the affected pipelines, 300 insertions are made on them, which eventually made the pipe 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 1.2 million barrels of oil were produced daily, it has been 15 million barrels per day within the last two to three months,” he stated.
When asked by the Chairman, if the projected oil production per day, could be jerked up to 1.8million from the current 1.78million, he said the projections and parameters set in the proposed budget are okay for NNPCL and realizable.
He also informed that the 1.78million barrels per day oil production for the 2024 budget, includes condensate, which are 200,000 to 300,000 barrels per day.
He added that as a fully-commercial entity now, NNPCL between July and November this year, remitted N406 billion into the Federation Account as dividend.
