‘Nigeria losing 200,000 barrels of oil daily to vandalism’

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed has said an average of 200,000 barrels were lost per day due to pipeline damage.

Mohammed who disclosed this at a Town Hall Meeting on Protecting Oil and Gas Infrastructure in Abuja on Monday, also said N60 billion is spent annually to repair and maintain vandalised oil and gas points.

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The Ministers of Environment, Mohammad Abubakar, Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio as well as Minister of State Petroleum Resources, Timipreye Sylva represented by the Group Managing Director of NNPC, Mela Kyari were panellists at the event.

Statistics revealed that between January 2019 and September 2020, 1,161 pipeline points across the country were vandalised.

“Apart from the impact on the nation’s earnings, consider also the environmental problems caused by the incessant vandalism, in terms of freshwater pollution, air pollution, soil pollution etc., you will appreciate the enormity of the problem,’’ the minister said.

He said with oil providing 80 per cent of Nigeria’s budgetary revenues and 95 per cent of foreign exchange earnings, the impact of the incessant destruction of oil pipelines on the economy humongous. (NAN)