NNPC Begs Pipeline Vandals not to Sabotage Economy

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr Maikanti Baru, has appealed to oil pipeline hackers to desist from such nefarious act which according to him is not only harmful to the environment but equally hazardous to the pipeline vandals and the economy.

Speaking while receiving a delegation of the Nigerian Environmental Society who was at the NNPC Towers Abuja for a business meeting, Mr Baru noted that the ugly incident of petroleum pipeline pulverization presented a loss-loss scenario for the vandal, the environment and the economy.

The GMD restated the commitment of the Corporation to the best industry standards in Health Safety and the Environment, (HSE) noting that the Corporation does not embark on any project without a duly certified Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) report.

“All our projects also go through commissioning and decommissioning and we do it in accordance with prevailing world standards and our environmental practices are in line with the latest International Standard Organization, ISO specification,” Mr Baru said.

The GMD noted that HSE was given a major consideration before the Corporation executed the recent spate of multi-billionaire upstream investment agreements with some of its Joint Venture partners.

“Be rest assured that if there is just one company that would be environmentally compliant in the industry, it is definitely going to be NNPC,” Mr Baru told the NES delegation.

In her presentation, Mrs Dorothy Bassey, National Vice President of the Society, commended the NNPC for recent gale of success in the sector especially the signing of alternative funding agreements with JV partners and the re-invigoration of the NNPC Anti-Corruption unit.

Mrs Bassey said as the foremost environmental society in the country, the NES was willing to forge symbiotic relations with the Corporation to address all the concerns that comes with the day-day operations in the NNPC in particular and the oil and gas industry in general.

Earlier in the day, the NNPC GMD received a delegation of the Nigerian National Merit Award led by the Chairman, Prof. Shekarau Aku. Dr. Baru pledged the readiness of the Corporation to support and identify with the ideals of the NNMA which extols the merit and value addition to the society.