The federal government is planning to construct a 1,000-kilometer crude oil pipeline in Kaduna State to import oil from the Niger Republic, according to Maikanti Baru, Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
Mr. Baru announced this over the weekend during a town hall meeting in Kaduna.
The plan was put in place due to the difficulties involved in transporting crude oil from the South-South to the Kaduna Refinery and Petrochemical Company (KRPC), he explained.
“Due to challenges with the aged refinery and crude oil pipelines that had been breached severely, the operations of the refinery have been epileptic,” Mr. Baru said. “This we are determined to resolve through various intervention methods, including evaluation of alternative crude oil supply from Niger Republic through building of a pipeline of over 1,000 kilometers from Agadem to Kaduna.”
He added that pipeline vandalism has also contributed to the degradation of the pipelines and has therefore obstructed oil transport.
Mr. Baru said the NNPC is already in talks with the Nigerien Minister of Petroleum and Chinese contractors operating the oil field in Agadem.
KRPC Managing Director Malam Idi Mukhtar said the plant is undergoing changes in preparation for the new pipeline.
“The Kerosene Hydrotreating Unit (KHU) rehabilitation is ongoing with the equipment overhaul and integrity checks. When operation, the margin of value addition on kerosene and Aviation Turbine Kerosene (ATK) will provide millions of naira in revenue, even at a throughput of 60 percent,” he said.
BY SAHARA REPORTERS
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