Gas scarcity: Power supply drops by 50%

The new Group Managing Director, GMD of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Maikanti Baru, has said that supply of gas for power supply has dropped by 50 percent.
He revealed this during his visit to the Defence Headquarters, Abuja.
According to Baru, the estimated drop of about 50% from 1,400Million standard cubic feet of gas per day, (MMscf/d), to barely 700MMscf/d, resulting to significant power outage exposure of between 2500MW to 3000 MW as a result of direct and indirect impact, has been recorded.
He then made a passionate appeal to the Nigerian military to help secure critical oil and gas infrastructure and curb the losses incurred by the Corporation due to pipeline vandals and oil thieves.
The Buhari Government had, in June 2015, a month after it took office, terminated the pipeline surveillance and protection contracts awarded to both ethnic militia and other individuals by former President Goodluck Jonathan.
During the visit, Baru told the Chief of Defence Staff, General Gabriel Olonishakin,
“From January to May 2016, almost 1,447 cases of pipeline hacking was recorded resulting to a loss of 109Million litres of petrol and 560,000 barrels of crude oil to refineries posing a great threat to the nation’s economy and the 2016 Federal budget.  Olonishakin responded that that the Defence Headquarters and the armed forces were duty bound to support and provide the NNPC with all necessary security support because of its strategic role in ensuring the economic survival of the nation.
He stated that over 3,000 vandalism incidents were recorded every year from 2010-2015. In 2015 alone, pipeline losses of PMS volume of over 643Million litres valued at over N51.28Billion was incurred.  ”The 2016 National budget plan was based on 2.2Million barrels per day of crude oil production.
However, the budget plan is now grossly impacted due to renewed militancy: with about 700, 000 bpd of oil production curtailed due to pipeline vandalism,” he said.