Nigeria has reached full pipeline availability for the first time in two decades, state-owned NNPC said today, marking a milestone in efforts to curb oil theft and vandalism.
NNPC chief executive Bashir Ojulari told the African Petroleum Producers' Organisation (APPO) forum in Accra that the achievement has helped restore confidence in the "resilience of the country's energy infrastructure". The company has reported upstream pipeline availability consistently above 96pc in monthly reports since April.
The improvement reflects Nigeria's progress in tackling pipeline sabotage and crude theft, which have long undermined production and exports. The challenges have accelerated the exit of oil majors from onshore assets, leaving land and swamp blocks to Nigerian independents.
Crude oil losses fell to about 10,000 b/d in January-July this year, according to upstream regulator NUPRC, compared with around 11,000 b/d for all of 2024. The seven-month average is double the 5,000 b/d recorded in February, as reported by Argus, but still far below the peak of nearly 103,000 b/d in 2021 — the highest in almost 23 years, NUPRC said.
London-listed Nigerian producer Seplat flagged improved export pipeline availability in its half-year 2025 update. The firm recorded 90pc uptime on the Amukpe-Escravos and Trans-Forcados pipelines. Overall performance in its western Niger delta operations would have been higher but for unscheduled leak repairs on Trans-Forcados and a planned 21-day shutdown for maintenance on the Trans-Escravos route, the company said.
In the eastern Niger delta, Seplat reported 82pc availability on the Trans-Niger pipeline, which carries crude to the Bonny export terminal. A 10-day shutdown is planned for the third quarter, the company said.
Nigerian independent Heirs Energies, which also uses the Trans-Niger pipeline, told Argus it has seen a turnaround in pipeline reliability since acquiring a 45pc stake in onshore block OML 17 in January 2021. The firm's crude losses surged to 97pc of production by December of that year, with one of six flow stations vandalised beyond use. "Today, we get close to 100pc of what we produce," the company said, putting current output at around 53,000 b/d — twice as much as when it took over operatorship of the block from Shell.
NUPRC said Nigeria's total crude losses fell from their peak in 2021 to 57,000 b/d in 2022 and 12,000 b/d in 2023, crediting collaboration among security agencies, operators and local communities for the improvement.
Neighbouring Niger is facing similar challenges. The country exports its Meleck crude via a 2,000km pipeline from Agadem to Benin's Seme terminal, but has suffered attacks by Sahelian militant groups. Ojulari told the APPO forum that Nigeria is committed to sharing its collaborative security model with other African producers to help build sustainable infrastructure protection across the continent.
