Leadership (Abuja)
Catherine Agbo
8 November 2009
Abuja — Fresh revelations emerged last week on how the Pipelines and Products Marketing Company (PPMC), a subsidiary of the Nigerian National petroleum Corporation (NNPC), through some of its engineers and technicians saved the country the trouble of going through what it described as the 'mother of all fuel scarcity' in the country.
The revelations came to fore when members of the House Committee on Downstream Petroleum last Thursday visited the Atlas Cove Storage Jetty to ascertain the authenticity of media reports that the storage jetty had been abandoned. Receiving the committee, managing director of PPMC, Reginald Stanley, explained how the team of engineers and technicians ignored obvious security threat and mobilised to site hours after the deadly July militant attack on the Atlas Cove Storage Jetty, reputed to be the nation's largest platform for the storage and distribution of petroleum products. He said a group of militants believed to be operatives of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, armed to the teeth and moving in a convoy of speed boats, unleashed terror on the jetty destroying the central manifold after killing some security men on guard, but havoc was averted as the engineers led by Anthony Onwuka, the Atlas Cove depot manager, together with a handful of technicians, welders and fabricators worked round the clock to salvage the situation within 36 hours of the attack. "You can't imagine what these brave Nigerians went through to restore the situation.
At a period when the militants were still warming up to stage a second attack, these guys risked their lives to save the nation from fuel disaster because they know what is at stake if Atlas Cove is shut down. This place accounts for 1 2 million litres out of the 30 million litres of fuel that is consumed everyday in Nigeria", he added. He maintained that it is bizarre for anybody to insinuate that the NNPC had abandoned Atlas Cove in preference for private depots because of the phantom pecuniary interest of a "certain clique" within the corporation as alleged by newspaper reports. Stanley noted that the Jetty, which was damaged during the attack, had since been reconnected to the depot through a temporary bye-pass which allows ships to berth, stressing that it is now fully connected to the discharge point as was the case before the militants' attack.
The committee inspected the facilities of Capital Oil Limited and Folawiyo Jetty, operated by Folawiyo Energy Services Limited, all in Apapa. Chairman of the committee Hon. Clever Ikisikpo, commended the NNPC and the operators of the private depot for forgoing a workable partnership to ensure that adequate storage facilities are provided for imported petroleum products. "We came here on account of what we read in the report. They told us that Atlas Cove has been abandoned but from what we have seen, the place is still working and operating at optimal capacity despite the July 12 militant attack. The allegation of N75 million daily bribe is baseless and without any foundation. There is nothing to suggest any form of underhand dealing or sharp practice, rather, Capital oil and Folawiyo Energy Services Limited should be commended for supporting the NNPC and PPMC instead of accusing the officials of going into the partnership for selfish reasons" Ikisikpo said. The Atlas Cove was commissioned in 1981 and designed as a transit depot to supply all the depots along system 2B-Ejigbo satellite, Ibadan, Ilorin, and Ore, regarded as the most active depot system in the country.
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