Nigeria to deploy technology in oil pipelines monitoring

The Managing Director, Nigerian Pipelines Storage company (NPSC), Luke Anele, has said the agency is deploying new technologies to monitor activities in oil pipelines across the country.

Mr Anele made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), in Abuja on Wednesday.

NPSC is a subsidiary of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation responsible for Crude Oil deliveries to the refineries, supply and distribution of petroleum products through a network of pipeline and storage depots as well as marine movement of petroleum products by vessel.

“What we are trying to do now is this, we are now moving a little further on the critical pipeline, the System 2B, we have entered into discussions with our contractor.

“We got a new contractor on the 28th of December, 2018, after we lost the other contractor. We are now trying to enhance the security by deploying technology. Technology reduces interference and it will also reduce the number of people who will be on the pipeline right of way.

“What we are going to see, because we had discussion last week, will be intervention centres where the security will stay, once people are approaching the pipelines, they are detected and there will be intervention.

” So, where we are moving to is not the issue of arresting criminals or pipeline vandals but preventing them from going to the pipelines,” he said.

Mr Anele noted that once people were prevented from going to the pipelines, the security and safety of the products would be assured.

He said the contractors would bring proposals for the company for review and if approved, they would deploy the technologies.

“So, this will reduce the incidence of human interference and improve on detection. It then means that you have improved on product protection. So, that is where we are heading now,” he added.

On the effect on host communities and partnership with the security agencies, he said that there was nothing to worry about as everyone would be carried along.

Mr Anele said although the company outsourced its security activities, the contractors engaged ensured that they recruited members of the communities through which the pipelines passed to guard the facilities.

He, however, said that with the adoption technology, there would be a reduction in the number of community guards and security agencies in the pipeline right of way.

The managing director said NNPC would continue to sensitise host communities, adding that that the aggregation of projects would continue in the communities.

(NAN)