Mr Kyari said the illegal connections on oil pipelines in the Niger Delta are so rampant that within 100 kilometres of the affected pipelines, 300 insertions are made on them, which eventually made the pipes to be weak.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) says illegal oil refiners connected 4,800 pipelines on its over 5,000 kilometres of oil pipeline across the country.
The Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Ltd, Mele Kyari, disclosed this when he appeared before the Senate Committee on Appropriations on Friday.
Mr Kyari lamented the increase in illegal connection of oil pipelines in the Niger Delta region and other parts of the country.
''As it is today, about 4,800 illegal connections are made on the over 5,000 oil pipelines across the country.
''The illegal connections on oil pipelines in the Niger Delta is so rampant that within 100 kilometres of the affected pipelines, 300 insertions are made on them, which eventually made the pipe to be weak to the point of not being able to hold the pressure of oil pumped, let alone, delivering it to targeted destination,'' Mr Kyari said
He said it is not advisable to engage illegal refiners to protect the pipeline of the NNPC Ltd.
The NNPC boss said the company will adopt another method to protect oil pipelines rather than engaging non-state actors.
''Additionally, it is abnormal to engage non-state actors to protect critical assets like oil pipelines. We have however responded abnormally and getting results because unlike as it was in July 2022 when less than 1.2 million barrels of oil were produced per day, it has been 1.5 million barrels per day within the last two to three months'', he said.
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Mr Kyari assured that NNPC Ltd will meet up with its projection of producing 1.78 million oil per day and the $77.96 oil price benchmark as contained in the 2024 budget.
He said the company remitted N406 Billion to the coffers of the federal government between July and November this year.
Responding, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Adeola Olamilekan, commended the management of the NNPC Ltd.
Mr Olamilekan said he is confident that the NNPC Ltd will deliver on its projections for the 2024 fiscal year.
Mr Kyari had previously said oil thieves have vandalised over 5,000 kilometres of oil pipelines connecting different parts of the country.
