Nigeria recorded 1,600 cases of pipeline vandalism since January, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, has said,
Kachikwu made the disclosure at the 2016 Annual Conference of National Association of Energy Correspondents with the theme, “Low Oil Price: Impact and the Way Forward”, in Lagos on Thursday.
The minister also said that the country recorded over 3,000 pipeline vandalism cases from 2010 to 2015. He said that about 850 million standard cubic feet of gas production had been lost from the crises as well as a power outage exposure of 2,700MW. to 3,000MW.
According to the minister, the impact of attacks on oil and gas pipelines was that there was no money to fund the 2016 budget due to oil shut ins or force majeures being declared by oil companies.
He said that militancy in the Niger Delta had destabilized the country’s oil industry, adding that Nigeria needed to increase its production by 1.1 million barrels per day to meet its target.
The minister added that proactive steps were required to bring Nigeria’s economy back on a positive track.