Nigeria’s recent fuel scarcity was partly blamed on inefficient fuel supply logistics. One of the critical storage facilities is Ore depot which has been neglected for over eight years. In this report, OLATUNDE DODONDAWA examines the causes of the neglect and its significance to the downstream distribution logistics.
Introduction
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is a major player in the downstream sector of the Nigerian oil and gas sector of the economy. It has over 5,000 kilometres of the pipeline network, 22 fuel storage depots and nine Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) depots it oversees.
The inability of successive governments to deregulate the downstream sector makes NNPC a major player in the sector and it remains the sole importer of premium motor spirit (PMS) otherwise called petrol.
In May 2016, stakeholders were elated when it was reported that the corporation has concluded plans to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with private investors for the concessioning of some strategic downstream assets mentioned. The concession was said to include upgrade, operate and secure under a Joint Venture model.
Some of the assets up for the concession, according to the reports, are the Single Mooring Point (SMP); New Atlas Cove Jetty (NACJ); Atlas Cove and pump station; Satellite (Ejigbo) depot; Apapa jetty; and Atlas-Mosimi pipeline which are in Segment 1.
Others are the Apapa LPG plant in Segment 1A; the Import Berth Platform (IBP), IBP-Escravos pipeline, Escravos terminal, Escravos-Warri crude oil line, Warri-Kaduna crude oil line and pump station, Warri pump station, Warri-Suleja pipeline, Warri-Benin pipeline, Benin depot, Benin-Ore pipeline and Ore depot in Segment 2; Mosimi depot and pump station, Mosimi-Ibadan, Mosimi-Ore and Ibadan-Ilorin pipelines, Ibadan and Ilorin depot and pump station in Segment 3 and Ibadan LPG plant in 3A are also included.
Why Ore depot suffers neglect
Ore depot is very strategic in distributing petroleum products within South-West-South-South zones and reduces the concentration of trucks in Lagos, thereby decongesting Apapa traffic. But lack of adequate maintenance, which has characterised most NNPC assets in the downstream sector may be largely responsible for the neglect of Ore depot.
Investigations by Nigerian Tribune revealed that activities of pipeline vandals also contributed to the neglect of the depot because the pipelines that transport products to the depot have been ruptured.There was a pledge by the NNPC to repair the ruptured pipeline over eight years ago but nothing has been done.
In an interview with Nigerian Tribune, the Chairman of Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Ore depot, Shina Amoo, blamed NNPC’s poor maintenance culture for the neglect of the depot for over eight years.
According to him, “NNPC has been promising us that it will fix the ruptured pipelines for over eight years, till date, nothing has been done. Ore depot is very critical and plays vital roles in fuel distribution across the south west-south south zone.
“The last time we loaded at this depot was over eight years ago. Poor maintenance culture of the NNPC was responsible because since some of the lines were vandalised; they are yet to be repaired.
“If the lines were well secured and well managed, there won’t be an opportunity for the vandals to operate. We have all the tanks in good condition, as well as the loading arms. The only problem we have is the pipeline problem.”
Conclusion
The Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Dr Maikanti Baru, successfully recommissioned Kano depot after almost four years of neglect due to attacks on System 2D pipeline; he also re-commissioned Ibadan and Mosinmi depots. However, he noted that it is one of the key mandates of the present administration to revamp the abandoned assets and put them back to work for the overall security and improvement of petroleum products supply and distribution for the benefit of all Nigerians.
“It is rather unfortunate that any time oil pipelines and associated facilities are vandalised, our ability to supply petroleum products to the nation is hampered, and the livelihood of many law abiding people negatively impacted,” he said during the re-commissioning of Ibadan depot.
Baru said NNPC had rehabilitated its System 2E (Portharcourt to Aba), System 2D (Kaduna-Kano) and the Atlas Cove to Mosimi segment of the System 2B pipeline, which has led to the commissioning of Aba, Kano and Mosimi depots.
While noting that efforts were also underway to re-commission the remaining parts of the System 2B pipeline (Mosimi to Ore depot and from Ibadan to Ilorin depot), he also announced the conclusion of rehabilitation work on the System 2E (Aba-Enugu) pipeline segment.
By implication, stakeholders in these zones may have to wait longer despite over eight years of redundancy. This may also mean that private depot owners with better maintenance culture would continue to smile to the banks while the Nigerian masses suffer.
and then