Saturday’s explosion of the Nigerian
National Petroleum Corporation’s System 2B pipeline at Arepo, Ogun State
has raised fears of another fuel scarcity in many parts of the country,
with some marketers capitalising on the development to hoard petrol.
Although the NNPC and some marketers
said there should not be any cause for concern because of availability
of fuel in the various depots, our correspondent gathered that queues of
motorists, which had disappeared from most filling stations in both
states in the last two weeks, had returned by Monday.
However, oil marketers, who spoke to our
correspondent on Monday, said the Arepo incident had yet to have
serious negative effect on supply of petrol.
A source at the Nigerian Independent
Petroleum Company said the effect of the ruptured pipeline would only be
felt in three or four days’ time, if the line remained unfixed.
According to the source, supply situation may not be affected if the pipeline comes on stream in a day or two
Similarly, the Group Managing Director,
NNPC, Mr. Andrew Yakubu, who visited the scene of the explosion on
Monday, said the corporation would fix the pipeline within 24 hours.
He described the situation under which
the System 2B pipeline was being frequently vandalised as worrisome,
saying it remained a major setback for the economy as the line remained a
major artery for product supply in the country.
Yakubu said, “As at today, we have
repaired the pipeline sufficiently for operations. But we are trying to
put in some additional measures. If we are able to do that today
(Monday), the situation will return to normal later today or tomorrow.
This will help in averting any form of product scarcity.”
He said the situation where the artery
was being hacked almost on a weekly basis called for concern. He,
however, admitted that the renewed effort of the Ogun State Government
to collaborate with the corporation remained a welcome development and a
step in the right direction.
“This is a serious challenge that calls
for everybody’s cooperation. The collaboration is a lot better now
because in the previous incident, we never had security presence,” he
said, while also confirming that the Inspector General of Police had
also released a squad of armed policemen to guard the site.
The GMD said the corporation had enough
product stock at the Mosimi depot, and could properly manage the
situation without disruption to product supply.
Speaking on steps being taken by the
NNPC to avert future incidents, Yakubu said, “Most of what we are doing
now is stop-gap solution. We don’t have a ready-made permanent security
or operational solution. We are working towards a more permanent
solution.
“Anything outside the Right of Way is not within our jurisdiction.”
Yakubu explained that the corporation’s
core mandate was to operate and maintain the pipelines, and not to
provide security cover.
He, however, expressed joy that the
state government and security agencies were now cooperating with the
NNPC to bring a lasting solution to the problem.
“With this environment, we don’t have
any excuse. We will spring into action immediately. All the stop-gap
solutions will be put into place immediately. For medium term
intervention, more innovation and designs will be developed to provide a
lasting solution,” he said.
Sounding a note of warning to vandals,
Yakubu said with the recent attention the situation was getting, it was a
timeout for vandals. He, therefore, called for the assistance of the
judiciary in ensuring that criminals were brought to book.
The NNPC boss also made reference to the
previously notorious Abia axis, which was always attacked by vandals,
saying it had turned out to be the best in the country now because the
state governor had championed the course of change involving the local
governments and the traditional rulers.
“This is the model we will like to see,” he added.
In November last year, the NNPC completed repair work on the System 2B pipeline, which was vandalised Arepo.
The pipeline pumps petroleum products from the Atlas Cove jetty to Mosinmi, Ibadan, Ilorin and Ore depots.
The shutdown had resulted in petrol distribution problems in states like Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Ondo, Edo and Kwara.
With the closure, trucks that hitherto
loaded at Mosinmi, Ogun State had to come to depots in Apapa, Lagos to
load. This caused delays and other logistic challenges for the
marketers.
PUNCH
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