Shell says “the recently discovered theft pipeline is approximately 30km away from SPDC’s Forcados terminal.”

Shell Petroleum Development Company has reacted to a revelation by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited that it found an illegal oil pipeline that operated from Forcados Terminal into sea for years without detection.

Shell is the operator of the Forcados Terminal. NNPC chief executive Mele Kyari told a joint Senate committee on Tuesday that it uncovered a four-kilometre theft pipeline from the terminal into the sea in the past six weeks. It said the line had been functional for nine years.

“In the course of the clampdown within the last six weeks, 395 illegal refineries have been deactivated, 274 reservoirs destroyed, 1,561 metal tanks destroyed, 49 trucks seized,” he said.

“The most striking of all, is the four-kilometre illegal oil connection line from Forcados Terminal into the sea which had been in operation undetected for nine solid years,” he added.

In a message to PREMIUM TIMES Thursday, a spokesperson for Shell said the connection was far off Shell-operated Forcados.

“SPDC appreciates the additional surveillance conducted on behalf of NNPC to deal with illegal activities,” SPDC’s media relations manager, Bamidele Odugbesan, said.

*However, the recently discovered theft pipeline is approximately 30km away from SPDC’s Forcados terminal. It is not within SPDC’s pipeline Right of Way.”

Nigeria has seen increased oil theft in recent years. The NNPC said earlier that the country loses 470,000 barrels of crude oil monthly amounting to some $700 million to oil theft.

PREMIUM TIMES also reported how Nigeria lost $10 billion to crude oil theft in seven months.

Activities at Forcados stopped after a leak was found in July. Shell said it expected loading to resume there later this month.