Government intensifies crude oil pipeline agreement from Niger Republic

NNPC Director Says Project Will Benefit Nation

Officials of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), have said the Federal Government joint venture with Niger Republic to run pipeline supplying crude oil to the Kaduna Refining and Petrol Chemical Company (KRPC) plant will ensure efficient and uninterrupted production and supply of petroleum products in the country.

Besides, government’s decision to enter into the agreement may have arisen from activities of the Niger Delta militants in the oil-producing region, where crude oil installations are under constant threat of attack.

Mallam Mohammed Lawal, member, Board of Directors of NNPC, who spoke on the progress made on the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the government of Niger Republic on the project, said this is not the first time Nigeria is entering into such a joint agreement, and that it will enhance the capacity of production of petroleum products in our country.

He said: “We are in the preliminary stage of the project. If this crude is refined in KRPC, it is not only the Kaduna people or the North that will benefit from it, as it will serve the entire country. Nigeria is losing a lot of revenue from the sector due to the activities of the militants, and we have the KRPC there in Kaduna, which is some kilometres from Niger. Now that we have an agreement with Niger Republic, I think we should exploit that avenue to ensure that there is adequate supply of crude to Kaduna refinery for constant production and supply of fuel and other products in the country.

“And this partnership will bring a lot of revenue to Nigeria. Also, the issue of Turn Around Maintenance (TAM) of Kaduna refinery is very crucial to the performance of the plant. Now that this joint agreement is on, we should really take this TAM of the plant seriously, so that we take advantage of the crude that will be pumped into the plant from that country.”