Yemisi Izuora
Nigeria has lost estimated $35.139 million in the last three days after alleged sabotage forced Shell to shut a major crude oil evacuation pipeline.
According to a statement by Shell, the company shut down the pipeline on May 12, but did not say when it would be reopened.
The Trans Niger Pipeline is critical to Nigeria’s crude export as it carries Nigeria’s crude oil, Bonny Light, to an export terminal.
The Trans Niger Pipeline, according to Shell, transports around 180,000 barrels per day of crude oil to the Bonny Export Terminal and is part of the gas liquids evacuation infrastructure, critical for continued domestic power generation and liquefied gas exports.
According report by Star Africa, the loss was due to non evacuation of crude oil from the facility.
The Central Bank of Nigeria puts the average price for Bonny Light at $65.07 per barrel and for every day that the pipeline is shut, Nigeria will be losing a minimum of $11.713 million.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) had a couple of weeks ago, lamented the recent increase in the attack on crude oil and gas pipelines across the country, stating that the country is losing about 60,000 barrels of crude oil and condensates daily whenever there is a pipeline break.
The NNPC had also stated that over 50 attacks were launched by vandals on the nation’s crude oil and gas pipelines in the last six months.
