Oil Pipeline Vandalism in Nigeria Carries High Cost

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Written by Richard Finlayson, Senior International Editor for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Between 2009 and 2012, pipeline vandalism in Nigeria caused the loss of 1.3 million tonnes of crude oil. The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) (Abuja, Nigeria) also reports that between 1999 and 2013, there were 34,047 reported incidents of pipeline vandalism.

Pipeline vandalism has not only hampered the ability of the Oil & Gas Industry to function optimally, but has caused colossal product losses and sparked rising repair costs, said Haruna Momoh, managing director of Pipeline Product and Marketing Company (PPMC), a NNPC subsidiary.

The pipeline ruptures occurred in NNPC's pipeline networks in Gombe, Kaduna, Mosimi in Ogun state and Warri.

In 1999, 497 incidents were recorded. The NNPC recorded 2,473 pipeline breaks between 2001 and 2004. There were 2,318 incidents in 2008.

Pipeline vandalism spiked at 5,518 incidents in 2010.

More than 712,000 tonnes of motor spirit were lost to pipeline vandalism between 2009 and 2012. The NNPC reported the loss of 9,548 tonnes of dual-purpose kerosene, 37,054 tonnes of automotive gas oil, and 1.3 million tonnes of crude, amounting to about $1.2 billion. The total braking effect of pipeline disruptions on national gross domestic product has not been quantified.

The NNPC has called for the pipelines to be declared as a strategic national asset, with a special protection force.

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