A status report on the operation of the Nembe Creek Trunk Line (NCTL) has indicated that the 150,000 barrels per day capacity pipeline was closed down for 122 days between January 2016 and May 2018, it has been learnt.
The NCTL and the Trans Niger Pipeline (TNP) are the two major pipelines used by oil companies operating in the eastern Niger Delta to evacuate crude to the Shell-operated Bonny Export Terminal.
It was gathered that the NCTL is a major crude oil transportation channel that conveys crude injected from Oil Mining Leases (OMLs) 29, 18, 24, 25, 23 and 55; running from Nembe Creek in Bayelsa State through Cawthorne Channel Field on OML 18 to the Bonny Oil Terminal for export.
The pipeline has a capacity of 150,000 barrels per day at Nembe Creek, but can evacuate 600,000 barrels of liquids from the Cawthorne Channel end.
The 115 kilometre-capacity line was built by Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) between 2006 and 2010 at a cost of about $1.1 billion but is currently being operated by Aiteo Group since 2015 when Shell completed the assignment of its interest in OML 29 and the NCTL to Aiteo Eastern E&P Co. Ltd.
The status report on the operations of the pipeline, which was obtained by journalists from one of the oil producing companies that evacuate crude through the facility, showed that due to recurrent thefts along the pipeline route, which are evidenced by significant pressure reductions on the trunk line, theft points identification as well as illegal refineries, Nigeria has experienced loss of production and huge revenue.
The report showed that between January 14, 2016 and May 23, 2018, the NCTL was out of operation for 122 days as a result of the activities of oil thieves that created several illegal bunkering points on the pipeline.
According to the report, in December 2016 alone, 45.46 per cent of the total net crude injected into the NCTL was lost.
A breakdown of the operation of the pipeline showed that it was shut down for 53 days in 2016; 62 days in 2017 and seven days in 2018.
“Third party interference with the line has oftentimes resulted in oil leaks, which ultimately culminate in shutting down the NCTL to undertake emergency repairs. This in itself has resulted in the NCTL being shut down for about 122 days and an approximate deferment of 50.386 million barrels of crude oil (net) for the six injectors into the NCTL since Aiteo took over the operatorship of the Trunk line. As at May 1, 2018, there were a total of 24 illegal bunkering points identified along the NCTL. Aiteo Eastern E&P successfully repaired nine of these illegal bunkering points,” said the report.
The report added that these illegal bunkering points also contribute to the huge losses on the volumes injected across the NCTL by the six oil mining leases and the volumes actually received at Bonny Terminal.
It was reported that AITEO paid the Joint Task Force in the Niger Delta a total of N1.192 billion for the protection of the pipeline over a period of three years.
A breakdown of the payment schedule showed that for 2015 alone, the company paid a total of N19.696 million to the JTF; N462.033 million in 2016; N449.419 million in 2017 and N260.663 million in 2018.
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