The
attack on the pipeline operated by Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC), has
resulted in the loss of 10,000 barrels per day (b/d) for the Italian oil firm
Investigations
revealed that the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) on Friday claimed they blew up the
Nembe 1, 2, and 3 trunk lines which link the Brass and Bonny terminals in
Bayelsa State in the early hours of the morning.
Agip
sources however said that the attack led to the shut-in of about 10,000b/d with
Agip suffering production loss of 4,000b/d equity.
The
development follows disclosure on Friday by the Minister of State for Petroleum
Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu that there were possible cracks in the federal
government’s reported dialogue with militants in the Delta, hence, the
resumption of hostilities.
Kachikwu
who hopes the country will claw back its lost production volumes within July,
disclosed that up to 1.9 million barrels were still being produced by Nigeria.
He also explained when he handed over management duties at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to its new Group Managing Director, Dr. Maikanti Baru that he was going to meet with President Muhammadu Buhari to fix the alleged crack and breakdown in the dialogue.
“We
are working on it (dialogue with militants) and I need to meet with Mr.
President for I just returned and obviously there’s a lot more engagement that
is required. There are gaps that seem to have developed and I need to
understand what issues warranted that. But we will work towards closing those
gaps,” he had said.
Also
in a related development, Baru who took over from Kachikwu has said he would
adopt to achieve a 12-point agenda at the NNPC, which will include the creation
of an all-inclusive internal advisory council on security.
Baru said in a statement from the Group General Manager, Public Affairs of NNPC, Mallam Garba Deen Muhammad that the security council will comprise of representatives from the corporation; International Oil Companies (IOCs); oil workers unions and security operatives in the country and will brainstorm and address host community agitations in oil producing areas.
He
said the council would complement existing efforts of the government’s security
team.
According to Baru, the NNPC under his watch will equally undertake new business models in its operations; grant autonomy to its strategic business units (SBUs) and autonomous business units (ABU) as well as provide relevant directions and control that would ensure their growth and profitability.
He
noted that he would, while exploring ways of relieving the government from the
burden of cash calls obligation, address and defray the agreed cash call
arrears of IOCs and restore oil and gas production.
Other
areas he disclosed that will take his attention include, increasing Nigeria’s
crude oil production through the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC);
review of all weak contractual agreements and terminate bad ones as
appropriate; as well as repair and restoration of oil and gas pipeline
infrastructure in the country.
Baru
said he will also set up a robust security system to detect and deter vandalism
of oil assets in conjunction with existing security arrangement. He said the
NNPC under him will equally upgrade its commitment to renewable energy and
frontier exploration services.
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