The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd. (NNPCL) revealed that it has identified a staggering 4,800 illegal connections across more than 5,000 kilometers of oil pipelines throughout Nigeria. Mele Kyari, the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL, made this disclosure during a recent engagement with the Senate Committee on Appropriations. He discussed the feasibility of achieving a 1.78 million oil barrel production per day and the $77.96 oil price benchmark for the 2024 budget.
Kyari expressed confidence in the budgetary projections, despite the current average daily oil production in the country standing at 1.5 million barrels. He also voiced concern about the security situation in the Niger Delta region, where the prevalence of illegal connections poses a significant threat to the integrity of the pipelines.
“The frequency of illegal pipeline connections in the Niger Delta is alarming. Within every 100 kilometers of affected pipelines, an average of 300 illicit insertions weaken the pipes, jeopardizing their ability to withstand the pressure of oil flow,” Kyari emphasized.
Moreover, Kyari highlighted the abnormal practice of engaging non-state actors to protect critical assets such as oil pipelines. He noted that unconventional measures have been employed to address this issue, leading to an increase in daily oil production from less than 1.2 million barrels to 1.5 million barrels within the past few months.
During the interface, Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola (APC Ogun West) inquired about the potential to raise the projected daily oil production to 1.8 million barrels. Kyari expressed confidence in the parameters set forth in the proposed budget, affirming their achievability.
Kyari further informed the committee that the projected 1.78 million barrels of oil per day production for the 2024 budget includes condensate production ranging from 200,000 to 300,000 barrels per day. He also highlighted NNPCL’s substantial financial contribution to the Federation Account, having remitted N406 billion as dividends between July and November of the present year.
In conclusion, Chairman of the Committee, Senator Adeola, commended Kyari for reinforcing their confidence in the practicality of the assumptions and projections of the 2024 budgetary proposals.
