10,166 illegal refineries and crude oil connections were destroyed in Nigeria since 2021 – NNPC

Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, on Wednesday, said a total of 10,166 illegal refineries and crude oil connections were destroyed in Nigeria since 2021.

It specifically stated that over 5,686 illegal refinery sites were destroyed, while 4,480 illegal crude oil connections were removed during the review period.

NNPCL’s Group Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari, disclosed this while speaking as a guest lecturer during the 2024 Faculty Lecture titled, “Energy Security, Sustainability and Profitability in Nigeria: Advances, Challenges and Opportunities,” organised by the Faculty of Science of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, on Wednesday.

Commenting on the challenges posed by pipeline vandalism and crude oil theft in NIgeria, Kyari in a statement issued by the company in Abuja, observed that the issues had impacted NNPCL’s operations adversely.

He, however, stated that the establishment of a command-and-control centre had aided the detection and destruction of illegal refinery sites, removal of illegal connections, thereby addressing vandalism across operating corridors since 2021.

“The centre provides live streaming of surveillance data to security forces, contributing to the detection and destruction of over 5,686 illegal refinery sites and the removal of 4,480 illegal connections from 2021 to the present,” the company’s boss stated.

He called for collaboration between the academia and the oil and gas industry towards addressing the challenges of energy sufficiency and sustainability.