Shell Eliminates 460 Illegal Connections On Its Trans Niger Pipeline

Osagie Okunbor, who serves as the Chairman of Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd (SPDC), disclosed that the oil firm successfully got rid of 460 illegal connections on its Trans Niger Pipeline (TNP) before resuming the facility Wednesday.

TNP, a crude oil pipeline owned and operated by Shell Petroleum, has been targeted by thieves for several years due to which the country lost billions of dollars.

During the Nigeria International Energy Summit in Abuja, Okunbor revealed that the TNP was closed for a year due to the thefts, underlining the importance of prioritizing the security of oil infrastructure in the country.

"What keeps me awake today as regards my onshore business in Shell is the fact that we cannot operate a pipeline, and that's what is responsible for the 60 percent capacity," he said Tuesday, as per Vanguard. "I think today that's almost just how much gas we can supply."

"And this is because one of our key gas infrastructures – the TNP, was shut down for one year; we removed 460 illegal connections on that line. We just reopened that line," Okunbor continued. "Today we are struggling to catch up with our first programme."

The chairman noted that a prominent issue for the administration is to maintain the security of oil and gas infrastructure. He added that if the issue doesn't get fixed, it can be a "huge problem." He further stated that there is a lack of courage and willpower to execute the ideas to prevent such theft.

"So essentially, this is the way I would think we should all be approaching the incoming administration as relating to our industry. I think the issues are quite known, we just need to find the willpower to execute," the Chairman added.

Last week, top officials of the federal government were a no-show before the House of Representatives as part of the investigation into the alleged illegal sale of 48 million barrels of crude oil in 2015. Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila pointed out that Nigeria may lose $23 billion this year to the thefts.

Considering the ongoing summit from April 17 to April 20, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, vice president of the company, also shared that the federal government has been working to boost the country's energy generation.

"If you are going to do anything, in terms of the green energy future, you should start from the low emission base," he said. "And that low emission base is here in Africa. We have the natural resources to do so. Therefore, we should focus on our strengths today. And I think we have started that."

"Our energy transition plan calls for the ramping up of solar cells and we will be doing about 5.3 gigawatts (5,300MW) per year until 2060," the vice president added. "That's the plan and we think this plan is achievable."

In conclusion, he said that the "production of over six billion liters of biofuels annually, and the transition of at least two million Nigerian households annually to cleaner cooking fuels, such as LPG and electricity every single year. These ambitions are achievable."