Nigeria to provide special funds to secure crude pipline

 The federal government and oil companies will provide a special fund of N15 billion ($93 million) to government security agencies to protect oil installations in the Niger Delta over the next year in a bid to sustain a new production level of 2.4 million b/d, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Friday quoted a
government official as saying.

Crude pipeline in Nigeria

     The deputy governor of oil producing Bayelsa state, John Jonah, said in the capital, Abuja, that the National Economic Council (NEC)  has approved the provision of the funds in line with the recommendations of a government committee set up to tackle oil theft.
     "What we are trying to do is to ensure that we buy the necessary equipment for them [security agencies] to perform their duty in the areas that we have identified [pipeline attacks]," he said.
     "Oil production as at Thursday has stabilized at 2.4 million b/d as against a 1.7 million b/d production a few months back [and] we are making sure that the level we are at now is sustained," he said.
     The oil ministry and state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. were not immediately available to confirm the new production level.
     NNPC however, said in August that Nigeria's daily oil production stood at 2.4 million b/d, up from the average output of 2.13 million b/d in June, following repairs and the restart of some vandalized pipelines and flow stations.
     Shell said Monday it had reopened its 150,000 b/d Trans Niger Pipeline, which was shut down in June after suspected oil thieves drilled holes in it.
     Oil theft, known in Nigeria as bunkering, has prevented Africa's top producer from producing up to its installed capacity of around 3.2 million b/d and causes huge revenue losses, estimated at over $7 billion a year.
     Nigeria set up a special task force in July specifically to tackle the crime.