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Tag: pipeline

  • Pipeline explosion kills 19

    Charred bodies littered Umuaduru  and Umuimo both in  Osisioma Local Government Area of Abia State yesterday after an abandoned Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation’s (NNPC) pipeline exploded unexpectedly,burning people along its path.

    The State commander  of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC),Mr.Benito Eze, confirmed 19 people dead in the incident.

    Eze said 16 persons, including one woman, died in the explosion that occurred around 2.47 a.m at Umuaduru.

    He also said that three others died in a separate fire incident  that occurred at about 3 a.m in a private residence at Umuimo.

    He described the incident as unfortunate.

    He said that the Umuaduru incident happened when some youths in the area were scooping petroleum products from vandalised pipelines.

    He said: “I learnt that they were scooping petroleum products when a spark occurred, leading to an explosion that left 16 natives dead.”

    Eze further said that the fire at Umuimo happened when a woman, identified as a food vendor, got up at about 3 a.m. to start cooking for the day’s business.

    “I gathered that the family stored petrol in the house and that it caught fire when the woman wanted to set up fire for cooking.

    “The fire razed the whole house but the woman and her husband did not die but managed to escape with burns,” he said.

    The civil defence boss said that the couple had been taken to a hospital for medical attention.

    It was also gathered that  that three military personnel were among the deceased.

    Eze, however, declined confirmation, saying that “investigations are still ongoing to ascertain whether they were among or not.”

    He said that the command had deployed its personnel to cordon off the scene to forestall more casualties.

    The fire was later put out by men of the state fire service.

    Chief Thomas Onyekwere, the Traditional Prime Minister of Umueze autonomous community, said that the community was mourning their loved ones who died in the fire.

    Eye witnesses said   some members of the community who were able to identify their relations  evacuated their bodies  before the arrival of security agencies at the scene.

    At Umuimo, a source told our reporter that over six persons died in the community.

    Some of the injured victims were taken to an undisclosed hospital where they are currently receiving medical attention.

    Some of the injured persons reportedly died later.

    A pipeline guard who gave his name as Chuks Benson Uzoije said of the incident:”Yesterday, when we were on duty at about  8pm, we got information that there was leakage on the line.

    “All the surveillance personnel gathered and started calling the people that are in-charge from Port Harcourt to Kaduna.

    “They told us that government is not doing anything with the old line; that the attention of government is on the new line.

    “Instead of pumping through the line which they maintain, they now pumped through the abandoned line and there was leakage everywhere.

    The pipeline eventually caught fire.It didn’t spare anything around including my house. Nothing was brought out of the house. The only thing that came out of the house is this cloth, rain boot and apron that I wore to work .Nothing else was saved.

    “Property worth millions of naira were consumed in the inferno. My tenant and his family sustained various degrees of burnt.

    “We tried all we could to ensure that no one took the advantage to go in and scoop fuel, but how we ended up having this damage is what I can’t explain. The Fire Service personnel came, but by the time they arrived, the deed had already been done.”

    A resident of the area  who does not want his name in print called for an inquiry into the incident.

    He said:  “information came yesterday at about 3pm that there would  be pumping of fuel through   the old pipeline.

    “The people were fully informed that there would  be fuel passage through the pipe. That was why a lot of people who got the information went into the market to purchase empty jerry cans and by midnight they set out to various points where they had already marked to scoop fuel from.

    “If you look round, you will see that they all came with plastic materials and wheelbarrows which they would  use to take the fuel back to their various houses. They are aware of the dangers of using iron materials around the pipeline, that was why they prepared ahead of time to come with torch and other materials.

    “I was not there, but someone who was lucky to have escaped from the inferno told people that the explosion was due to the heat from the machines that the soldiers came with.”

     

  • Army arrest eight pipeline ‘vandals’, recover over 1000 kegs

    Operatives of the 81 Division, Nigerian Army have arrested eight suspected pipeline vandals at Imoro Creek, Ikorodu in Lagos.

    The suspects, Muftau Saliu, Segun Oladipupo,  Akeem Adeniyi, Bukola Adepoju, Wasiu Jamiu, Abiodun Akindode, Azeez Ibrahim, Matthew Oboregbeyen, who were arrested on April 17, were paraded on Saturday by the General Officer Commanding  (GOC) 81 Division, Maj.-Gen. Enobong Udo.

    According to Udo, the army discovered sabotage points along the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) pipeline including a loading area in the creek where products were siphoned.

    He said the army recovered 10 vehicles, comprising seven saloon cars, two wagons and a J5 bus, 31 jerrycans laden with refined petroleum products, 1,397 empty kegs, three coolers, nine mobile phones and substances suspected to be hard drugs.

    Of the 1,397 kegs, Udo said 1,320 were discovered separately and destroyed during the raid.

    The army also raided vandals’ haven at Ilara and Imagbon areas of Ikorodu, where a wooden boat, 40 empty 50 litre jerrycans and 1000 metres-long laid hose, used for siphoning petrol were destroyed.

    “The suspected vandals are undergoing preliminary investigation after which they will be handed over to the appropriate security agency for further action,” said Udo, who was represented by the Commander, 9 Brigade, Brig.-Gen. Moundhey Ali.

    However, the suspects denied being vandals, with most of them insisting they were innocent.

    Oboregbeyen said he stopped the business three years ago when a crisis broke out in the creek, insisting he had since started a legitimate livelihood.

    He accused a Baale of masterminding his arrest, adding that the Baale had threatened him a few days before soldiers came to pick him up.

    Oboregbeyen said: “To be honest, I was into the fuel business but I stopped three years ago. I was doing it with the Baale. When I stopped, I started riding motorcycle and also doing bricklaying job. What happened was that the Baale went and sold a portion of my land and I challenged him for that.

    “Then, I had issues with my wife and he wanted to meddle but I told him to mind his business. He then told me that he is going to put me where I will not return.

    “Then, two days after, soldiers came and arrested me. They went to my house, searched it but they did not find any fuel or anything. They asked me where I kept fuel, I told them I do not know what they were talking about. That was how I was brought here.”

    Saliu said he was arrested after soldiers saw fuel in his vehicle, adding that he usually bought 50 litres of Premium Motor Spirit  (PMS) from vandals at N4,500.

    Akeem claimed they apprehended him because his vehicle reeked of PMS, insisting that he had no business with pipeline vandals and was just a commercial taxi driver.

  • Photos: vandalised pipelines in Lagos

    Pipelines at Isheri-Oshun in suburb area of Lagos were vandalised in the early hours of Thursday.

    According to eye witness, about six loads of tankers operated on the pipeline and left before day light.

    Our reporter witnessed the flow of PMS in the area which could be dangerous as residents were busy scooping fuel.

    Read Also: ‘Technology vital to fighting pipeline vandalism’

  • Pipeline explodes day after repair

    A day after its repair, a pipeline in Peace Estate, Baruwa Ipaja, exploded yesterday. Nobody died in the explosion.

    The Nation learnt that one of those who vandalised the pipeline on Tuesday  was arrested and handed over the police.

    It was gathered that it took the combined efforts of the Lagos State Fire Service, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), LASEMA Response Unit (LRU) and the police, among others, to put out the fire, which raged for about five hours.

    A passerby,  Tunde Salam, said witnesses heard a loud bang around 6am when the pipeline exploded.

    “This made residents and motorists run for safety. Many people gathered at the scene and the security agencies were on ground to put out the fire; it took them five hours to quench the fire.”

    A resident, simply identified as Solomon, said pipelines had been vandalised in the area on many occasions.

    “It has been a while that they have been vandalising pipelines in that area, but among those who carried out the act on Tuesday night, one of them was arrested and handed over to the police. Those vandals usually come at night and no one can challenge them due to the ammunition they come with.”

    He said the fire began around 6am, noting that someone might have started a fire which later led to the explosion.

    “Someone must have started a fire; the spill of the fuel along the pipeline area that was vandalised must have mixed with the fire and led to the explosion; the fire was much. This area is swampy and it has a water channel,” he said.

    Project Site Engineer, Pipeline and Products Marketing Company (PPMC), Mr Austin Obi, said the pipeline was repaired on Wednesday,  adding that that  was what led to the explosion.

    “The pipeline was repaired on Wednesday.  The spill came in contact with naked fire early this morning and led to the explosion,” he said.

  • Pan Ocean’s pipeline ‘ll boost crude export by 160,000bpd

    Pan Ocean Oil Corporation (POOC), an indigenous exploration and production company and operator of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC)/Pan Ocean Joint Venture, has awarded a pipeline contract to a local firm to create an alternative export line to avoid attacks by Niger Delta militants. EMEKA UGWUANYI reports.

    The agitation for resource control by the Niger Delta militants made the creeks of the region dangerous for expatriate oil workers. This led to shutdowns of operations by oil companies.

    Until recently, following several  interventions by the Federal Government, major pipelines, including the Nembe Creek Trunk Line (NCTL) and Trans-Forcados Crude Export Pipeline, have been under attacks. When such blow outs occur, it takes weeks, months or sometimes a year to get the pipelines back on stream.

    The Federal Government, however, has been able to check some of the militants through peace talks. Despite these, there is the need for a safer way of evacuating crude oil.

    Driven by the urgent need to encourage alternate field production potential of exploration and production companies, as well as infrastructure development in Nigeria, Pan Ocean Oil Corporation, operator of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation/Pan Ocean Joint Venture, began to seek alternative line to evacuate crude from the fields to export terminals.

    Pan Ocean has awarded a contract for the construction of Amukpe-Escravos Pipelines Project (AEPP) to Fenog Nigeria Limited, an indigenous company in 2011.

    The contract, which involves installation of 20-inch pipeline on the 67-kilometre route, will have the capacity to handle 160,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) with capacity to accommodate third parties on crude oil evacuation to the Escravos Tank farm.

    The Amukpe-Escravos Pipeline Project (AEPP), a joint venture (JV) of the NNPC and Pan Ocean, The Nation learnt, is scheduled to begin operation before the end of third quarter of the year. It will offer an option to the “much-troubled” Trans Forcados Pipeline (TFP) for crude export from mid-western oil producers in the Niger Delta.

    “The primary objective of AEPP is to ensure that there is no disruption to crude oil export like the scenario we experienced on the TFP over the past 16 months where there was a total collapse of crude export. Nigeria’s experience and history has shown that it is not wise to be highly dependent on a particular source that is why we have AEPP as alternative to TFP which has been our major means of exporting crude oil as a joint venture (JV) partner,” John Okusolubo, senior pipeline engineer and Project Lead, AEPP, said.

    According to him, the construction of the AEPP entails the use of Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) to install the pipelines  to secure them from vandalism. The project’s objective is to provide Pan Ocean JV and other Niger Delta mid-western producers, such as Seplat, Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), Conoil, Sahara and other oil producers in the area an alternative export pipeline route to the TFP that has been a casualty of many militant attacks.

    Nigeria’s crude export dwindled in the past two years because of the massive vandalism. The TFP has a daily capacity of 240,000 bpd, with average daily flows ranging from 200,000 bpd and 240,000 bpd. Amid its shutdown, Nigeria’s crude oil production fell from two million bpd to as low as 1.27 million bpd, losing its position as Africa’s number one crude oil producer and falling behind Angola several times over the past year.

    The AEPP will be a major export line. It will give opportunity for other injectors who may be stalled by the erratic vandalism of the TFP to join in transporting crude to Escravos. This achievement means Pan Ocean has an alternative line to export its crude and has also created an opportunity for others who have been using TFP to also export their crude without disruption.

    This project will help the country to continue to flow their crude and keep the economy alive. It is also imperative that other indigenous firms individually or collaboratively find ways to make the oil and industry uninhibited to boost the economy.

  • Pipeline Vandalism: NNPC again appeals to Niger Delta militants

    Pipeline Vandalism: NNPC again appeals to Niger Delta militants

    The Group Managing Director of  Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr Maikanti Baru, has appealed to militants in the Niger Delta to stop attacks on oil facilities.
    Baru made the appeal at the 26th edition of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Oloibiri Lecture Series and Energy Forum (OLEF) on Thursday in Abuja.
    According to him, with Nigeria’s enormous reserves in gas as the 9th largest in the World, unemployment and infrastructural challenges can be tackled but the disruptions are crippling activities like power generation.
    “On this note, I will like to use this medium to appeal to the militants in the Niger Delta to stop the attack on pipeline infrastructure to enable us sustain our plan and grow the industry for the benefit of all Nigerians.
    “Gas pipeline vandalism has been the most disruptive challenge to supply across the country, but more recently in the West.
    “The Trans-Forcados crude oil pipeline (TFP) has been the major victim of attacks, so also the ELPS gas pipeline has seen surprising increase in attacks.
    “As we speak today, there is enough gas to generate about 4,800 megawatts and 6,000 megawatts by second quarter of 2017, based on our gas supply plan.
    “However, the power sector is presently struggling to evacuate 4,500 megawatts power due to DISCOs’ incessant rejection of allocated load and transmission line constraints,’’ he said.
    Baru said that interventions in the sector yielded results on Feb. 2, 2016 as a record high peak generation of 5,079 megawatts (86 per cent thermal) was attained, but that incessant attacks on pipelines significantly affected gas supply.
    He said that in spite of challenges, NNPC was committed to ensuring adequate gas supply to meet Nigeria’s industrial growth.
    He said that strategic repositioning of the sector was ongoing to support massive gas-based industrialization to place Nigeria as the regional hub for gas-based industries such as fertilizer, methanol and petrochemicals.
    “The first of this effort is the planned 30 square-kilometre Gas Revolution Industrial Park in Delta which will be Africa’s largest gas industrial park, supporting gas-based industries.
    “Also, we have successfully completed a pilot programme to introduce natural gas as fuel for transportation through Compressed Natural Gas (CNG).
    “Today, over 4,000 cars, mostly commercial taxis, run on natural gas in Benin, served by a network of six gas-filling stations. We are currently extending the CNG initiative to other parts of the country.
    “Apart from the obvious environmental benefits, use of gas in transportation is cheaper; taxi drivers save significantly on petrol cost as CNG is sold at 46 per cent of the price of petrol.’’
    The GMD said that CNG was not only cheaper but was neater, cleaner, pilferage-free, burned cleaner and had become the fuel of choice for power globally.

    Speaking to journalists shortly after his remarks at the lecture, Baru said that the Oben-Geregu (196km), Escravos-Warri-Oben (110km), Emuren-Itoki (50km), Itoki-Olorunsogo (31km), Imo River-Alaoji (24km), Ukanafun-Calabar (128km) had been successfully implemented.

     

    He added that strategic East-West Obiafo/Obirikom to Oben (OB3) pipeline (127km), looping of the Escravos-Lagos Gas Pipeline System from Warri to Lagos and Ajaokuta-Abuja-Kaduna-Kano pipeline (650km) were currently ongoing and at various stages of completion. (NAN)

  • Breaking: Major pipeline explosion in Rivers community

    A major pipeline explosion has occurred  around  Eveko community near Rumuji in Emuoha LGA, Rivers state on the East-West highway.

    The explosion occurred a few kilometers from a new gas company under construction in the area around 3:03pm. on Wednesday.
    It sent tremor across the area, including the east west highway. Truckloads of sand were poured several metres from the scene.
    Massive evacuation is ongoing as inhabitants of the communities around the area are fleeing.
    Chinyere, a pregnant woman was seem fleeing with her naked toddler named Chibo. Our reporter had to help evacuate some of the panic stricken residents of the area.
     Casualty figures of the  incident which occurred near a police checkpoint  is not  yet known as jackets and other items of the security men were seen around the scene.
     Kitoye Basutor in a facebook comment to this report wrote ” Its not something to witness, our vehicle had to turn back at the sound of the pressure coming out from the explosion.”
    “People fleeing their homes. From afar, I could see the plantation dancing to the breeze of the gas. Motorists should divert through Elele-Isiokpo as any little spark could result to great fire inferno,” Basutor.
     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Pipeline vandalism destroying economy, says NSCDC

    Pipeline vandalism destroying economy, says NSCDC

    The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has described pipeline vandalism and illegal refineries as economic sabotage and environment hazard capable of destroying a nation.

    NSCDC called on communities in the Niger Delta to volunteer more information on activities of pipeline vandals to enable the Corps flush them out.

    Its spokesperson Mr Emmanuel Okeh disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.

    He said the Commandant-General of the Corps, Mr Abdullahi Muhammadu had ordered NSCDC officials to evolve new strategies and redouble their efforts in tackling the menace.

    Okeh said that more than 20 illegal refineries and 100 suspects were recently arrested in the region following intelligence report.

    He explained that the NSCDC had also established a 24-hour Command and Control Centre in Abuja as part of plans to enhance its surveillance on the pipelines.

    The spokesperson also stressed the importance of the cooperation and support of host communities to enable the NSCDC improves its operation in the region.

    “With the support and cooperation of host communities in the Niger Delta, I can assure you that our operations will be enhanced.

    “We need all the necessary information on the activities and hideouts of these vandals from the host communities,” he said.

    Okeh said NSCDC would continue to collaborate with other security agencies like the Navy to stem the tide of vandals in the Niger Delta.

  • ERA wants Shell to relocate gas pipeline

    ERA wants Shell to relocate gas pipeline

    Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) has criticized Shell for passing gas pipelines across the surface of Kolo Creek at Ogbia Local Government Area (LGA) in Bayelsa.

    News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) is running gas pipelines across Kolo Creek at Imiringi in Ogbia LGA.

    In a field report made available to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Yenagoa, on Monday, ERA/FoEN noted that running oil and gas pipelines across water surface was an environmental anomaly that runs against best practices.

    The report was signed by Head of Field Operations at ERA/FoEN Mr Alagoa Morris.

    ERA/FoEN described the development as ‘environmental terrorism’ and should not be allowed.

    The NGO urged the relevant agencies of government, especially the federal and Bayelsa Ministry of Environment to wade into the matter urgently, as the pipeline hinders navigation.

    The report quoted residents of Imiringi community as saying that the pipelines across the water surface of the creek affected water transportation as well as obstructed canoes used for fishing and evacuation of farm produce.

    The NGO quoted Mr Naru Emesua an engineer and resident of the community as saying that the gas pipeline ought to have been buried five feet below the water surface.

    “But what we now see is about two feet above the water level. That is why it has affected navigation on the creek.

    “Most of our women use this creek to access their farms, fishing and business connections to some communities in Rivers State.

    “The economic significance of this creek to our people is immense, especially when you consider the fact that we can access the Orashi River through it.

    “And the crude oil slick we have observed on the creek currently is disturbing. This is harmful and that is why we are calling on Shell to come and carry out proper cleanup of the creek it has polluted.” Emesua said

    ERA/FoEN urged Shell to return to the site and correct the environmental anomaly in the interest of environmental and social justice and investigate the source of the oil leak found in the area..

    “The National Oil Spills Detection and Response Agency and Bayelsa Ministry of Environment should visit the Kolo Creek and ask Shell to take immediate steps to clean up all traces of crude oil slick found between SPDC’s Kolo Creek Logistics Base and Imiringi community and beyond.

    “The people cannot continue to suffer and pay the price of crude oil exploitation simply because the resources were found in their environment.

    “If there are no current oil leaks within the environment, it means Shell is deliberately pouring crude oil into the Kolo Creek; the peoples’ only natural source of drinking water,” the NGO stated.

    Mr Precious Okolobo, SPDC’s Media Relations Manager declined comments on the matter (NAN)

  • ‘Electrified walls ’ll check pipeline vandalism’

    The Federal Government should build electrified and non-electrified walls round  oil and gas pipelines in the Niger Delta region to protect them, the Executive Secretary, Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), Mr. Obafemi Olawore, has said.

    This is coming on the heels of the Federal Government’s victory over militants, including pipeline vandals, in the region.

    Olawore said the walls would be different in structure, adding that the idea would help in warding off attacks against the pipelines. He said while one of the two walls would be in electronic format, the other would not, adding that the idea will curtail the activities of vandals.

    He said: “Two approaches or methods need to be adopted if government really wants to curb pipeline vandalism and other untoward practices that affect oil production and exploration activities in Nigeria. The first one is building of electrified wall round pipelines, while the second is building of wall that is non-electrified round pipelines. Electrified walls are found to be useful in many of the developed economies.”

    Olawore, who spoke at a stakeholders’ forum in Lagos, said  government-owned assets including oil installations require maximum security in view of their strategic importance to the economy. He said the environment in which oil marketing firms and other organisations in the downstream subsector of the industry operate was more challenging, urging the government to do something on it for growth.

    According to him, the process of acquiring land for investments in the industry was cumbersome as well as hindering growth. “Apart from the fact that operators are finding it difficult to get land for investment purposes, they are also battling problems such as huge taxes and levies. They are paying different forms of taxes to the three levels  of government – Federal, state and the local government. The three tiers of government collect the same tax from operators,  resulting in multiple tax collection from the operators. The issue is affecting the industry’s capacity to record growth. By the time the operators factored in the cost of materials, taxes and other levies on their production, they are left with small profits,” he added.

    Also, the Chairman, Independent Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Chief Chinedu Okoronkwo, said oil marketers, among others, operate in a difficult environment caused by the recession in the economy. However, he said problems in the industry were surmountable, adding that operators will overcome them soon.

    The marketers,Okoronkwo said, were getting used to the government’s directive on fuel importation and buying of foreign exchange (forex) from multiple sources as well as recording growth.

    He said activities in the downstream segment were picking up, adding that marketers were free to import fuel into the country. “The prospect is bright for operators in the sector. With time, the deregulation would benefit all the operators. Before, many members of IPMAN struggled to get fuel to sell but now there is an improvement. I believe the gains recorded by marketers would trickle down on other players in the industry soon,” he said.