The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has uncovered 12 new illegal pipeline connections in just one week, bringing the total number of illegal connections to 7,015 as of February 10, 2025.
Deputy Manager of NNPC’s Command and Control Center, Upstream Investment Management Services (NUIMS), Murtala Mohammed, revealed this information on Tuesday during a stakeholders’ engagement in Abuja.
Mohammed’s presentation, titled “An Insight Into NNPC’s War Against Crude Oil Theft,” highlighted the company’s efforts to combat oil theft.
The oil theft has significantly impacted Nigeria’s oil production capacity, currently standing at 1.7 billion barrels per day.
According to Mohammed, most of the stolen crude is refined locally, while some is transported out of the country.
He added that 2,849 suspects have been arrested in connection with oil theft and 1,467 trucks loaded with stolen crude oil have been recovered .
The company also said it has repaired 3,100 vandalized pipelines.
Giving further details, Mohammed noted that there are 9,332 illegal refineries operating in the country as of February 10, 2025 while the 7,015 illegal connections hav been destroyed.