Nigeria’s Oil Output Drops 150,000 as Aiteo Shut Pipeline Again

• Nigeria’s Oil Output Drops 150,000 as Aiteo Shut Pipeline Again

Nigeria’s total crude oil production to drop by 150,000 as Aiteo Eastern Exploration and Development Company Limited shut down the Nembe Creek Trunk Line (NCTL) amid attacks on the 100km pipeline.

In a statement issued by the company, the continuous attack on the key national oil infrastructure is hurting the nation’s revenue generation, especially in a period when the country is trying to up revenue generation.

The 100km NCTL pipeline has a capacity of 150,000 barrels per day and delivers crude oil to the Bonny Crude Oil Terminal.

Aiteo said, “Despite significant investments in security, technology and civic engagements, the destructive pattern of pipeline vandalism still persists.

“These attacks are persistent, sophisticated, and appear timed to inflict debilitating and disruptive effect, all indisputably calculated to decimate Aiteo’s production output in the short if not medium term.

“Regrettably, these vicious and malicious exertions by individuals and faceless entities are having that unavoidable effect.”

“The disruptions that these attacks have brought about have led to direct, irretrievable and significant losses in production and, consequently, have created revenue deficits that directly impact all the stakeholders across the relevant value chain. The consequences say nothing of the significant negative and inherently damaging effect that these malicious infractions have on the environment.”

According to the company, the NCTL has been shut down for 61 days in 2019 alone and over 200 days in the last for years.

“The number of barrels lost to these incidents, almost compare in volume to the country’s total daily production. By this level of sabotage, the NCTL has been shut down for 61 days this year alone, constituting 83 per cent cause of downtime in this year only. Over the last four years, more than 200 shut down days have been recorded on the asset,” the statement read.

Experts said by just fixing damaged pipelines, the country could attain 2.5 million barrels per day by the second half of 2020. Further highlighting the size of attacks on Nigeria’s oil pipeline.