Pipeline Vandalism Shuts Down Nigerian Gas-Fired Power Station

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Written by Richard Finlayson, Senior International Editor for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--As Nigeria struggles to keep its marginal grid power capacity online, pipeline gas and oil theft is proving to be another problem in keeping some power stations operational. Vandalism on the pipeline supplying gas to Okpai Power Station in the Delta state caused a 450-megawatt (MW) drop in the power supply, following the shutdown of the plant last weekend, according to the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).

TCN said the shutdown would cause unavoidable power rationing for three or four days. The utility called on members of the public to work with the government in protecting installation and facilities.

Earlier this month, Babatunde Ogun, president of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association (PENGASSAN), told Sweet Crude that the increasing incidence of crude theft, pipeline vandalism, divestment by multi-nationals, and the delayed passage of the petroleum industry bill were some of the factors gradually grounding Nigeria's oil and gas industry.

"We are losing about 150,000 barrels of crude everyday to theft and about 100,000 to 150,000 that is shut-in because ... the pipelines have been vandalized," Ogun said. "This means we have a reserve that is producible and we are not producing it. Invariably, the organization involved is losing money and the country is losing money. That is why the nation's foreign reserve is going down, and the revenue that is suppose to accrue to the government is going down, because they cannot produce what they are supposed to meet and they cannot meet the expectation of the market."

For related information, see October 16, 2013, article - Oil Theft, Sabotage Shut Down Shell's Nigerian Pipeline, and January 22, 2013, article - Nigerian Union Calls for Action After Pipeline Vandals Cause $1.05 Billion in Lose in Four Years.

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