The Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, Mele Kyari has disclosed that there are 4,800 illegal connections on over 5,000 kilometres of oil pipelines across the country.
Kyari, made this known while appearing before the senate committee on appropriations.
He appeared before the committee days after the House of representatives threatened to arrest him for refusal to appear before it earlier.
The NNPCL also recently come under severe criticism from a former emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi for corruption.
Sanusi, a former Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN governor had criticized the government owned oil company for refusing to remit huge sum into the purse of the federal government.
Speaking before the committee, Kyari said tried to rationalize why it may be difficult to produce enough crude to earn more revenue for the government.
He however explained that crude oil production has increased in the last three months due to the company’s efforts.
According to him, “it is today, about 4,800 illegal connections are made on the over 5,000 oil pipelines across the country,” Kyari said.
“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 makes 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 are getting results, because unlike as it was in July 2022 when less than 1.2 million barrels of oil were producing per day, it has been 1.5 million barrels per day within the last two to three months.”
