The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has disclosed that there were 4,800 illegal connections to the nation’s crude oil pipeline in the Niger Delta.
The Group Managing Director of the NNPCL, Mele Kyari, made this known on Friday in Abuja.
Kyari spoke when he appeared before the Senate Committee on Appropriations chaired by Senator Adeola Olamilekan.
He added that within 100 kilometres of the pipeline, there are over 300 insertions.
He said: “The situation in Niger Delta is a calamity.
“We don’t have this situation anywhere in the world.
“To engage non state actors to protect critical assets as the last resort for a solution to a massive challenge is very abnormal and should not have happened in the security of asset
“We responded abnormally.
“Today, we have over 4,800 illegal connections on our pipelines
“In some lines, within 100 kilometres of pipelines, you will have as much as 300 insertions.
“Every kilometer, there is an insertion.
“When these insertions are contained and sealed up, it can no longer hold the pressure.”
Kyari, while lamenting the issue of oil theft in the Niger Delta, revealed Nigeria lacks credible data for daily consumption of petroleum products because there was no infrastructure to determine it.
According to him: “The country does not have credible data for national consumption because we do not have the infrastructure to get this.
“Before June, we were doing up to 66.7 million litres of evacuation.
“Today, we are down to 45 million litres.”
Kyari said that NNPCL has paid about N406 billion to the Federation Account between July and November.
