A destroyed refinery By Favour Ifeoluwa & Akinola Ajibade The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited( NNPCL) says it has destroyed 134 illegal refineries in the last few weeks. Also, the company said 63 illegal pipeline connections were uncovered during the the weeks . The corporation, In a visual report, stated that at about 2 am on Sunday, a joint team of security agents discovered a large wooden boat illicitly loading stolen crude oil from Barge AGS01 within the OML 18 operating area, noted intelligence report a large wooden wooden boat was caught receiving crude oil from the barge. According to the state-owned oil firm, while the barge was towed away with a tugboat in custody, five speedboats used in towing the large wooden boat to the illegal loading site were also detained and the particulars of the tugboats and barge used for the operation were reportedly seized for further investigation. It further said that two large boats, which involve
The Group Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited ( NNPC) Mallam Mele Kolo Kyari says the national oil company will commence the drilling of crude in Nasarawa State as from March 21 this year, if all go as planned.
He said when he visited the Governor of the state, Abdullahi Sule, in Lafia, the state capital.
Kyari stated that significant amount of oil was found, following the detection of iniitial exploratory activities in the state.
He said, based on this, NNPC is ready to do the necessary work to find the hydrocarbon.
He said: “This work must be done very fast as the world is walking away from the fossil fuels due to the energy transition. The earlier you go to market, the better for you. Otherwise, 10 years from now, no one will agree to put money in the petroleum business unless it comes from your cash flow.”
NNPCL, Kyari stated, began work in the state in 2010 and has technically found a petroleum environment in it..
“We have seen a great potential for finding hydrocarbon in Nasarawa State and to confirm this, we are going to start drilling on March 21.
“We are very optimistic that it would be a successful exercise. It will not end there, once you find oil, you do further works to develop it, not just for the benefit of the community around it but for Nasarawa state and the country,” he said.
Kyari pointed out that the exploration would not be limited to the current location in Obi/Keana location.
“Once we test this prospect, it opens new roads and we have seen other great prospects across many parts of the State. This will herald history and bring value to all of us,” he added.
He thanked the government and people of Nasarawa state for the cooperation and support so far and called for its sustenance.
“Peace and cooperation is essential in oil exploration and we have seen enormous cooperation in this respect. We have seen no danger, no risk to our operation from all stakeholders in our area of operation and we thank them for that,” he added.
Kyari stressed that the company would continue to do its best to bring immediate value to the host community and ultimately to the wider society when oil was found in commercial quantity.
Also, Governor Abdullahi Sule appealed to the people to sustain the peace in the area and across the state and identified insecurity as a major challenge to oil exploration in the country.
He called on the people of the state to ensure they maintain peace and support the company for the project to succeed and expressed optimism that the drilling of the oil well, named “Ebenyi-A” would be the first in the North Central zone of the country.
Also speaking, the Emir of Lafia, Justice Muhammad Sidi-Bage (rtd), reassured the NNPC of the people’s support.
“On behalf of our people, we want to say that you will find peace. We have been known for being peaceful, kind and loving. You will not have any reason to feel otherwise within the period of your operation in the state,” Sidi-Bage said.
Similarly, the Managing Director, NNPC Energy Services Limited, Sophia Mbakwe, said the assurances from the government and stakeholders in state was critical to the operation of the company.
“For the right to operate, we need the cooperation, support and blessing of the governor and the community, and that we have got today.
“The intent is that it’s going to benefit both parties and we want to go there to ensure no harm to people, no harm to the environment and be able to commence drilling as planned on March 21,” she noted.
The Executive Director, Frontier Exploration Services of NNPC, Muktar Zanna, had led a team other executive directors of the Corporation on a visit to various traditional rulers in the area for their support.
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