Stakeholders from oil bearing communities have urged the federal government to provide more institutional support to pipeline surveillance companies, particularly the Pipeline Infrastructure Nigeria Limited, charged with the responsibility of ensuring the security of oil and gas infrastructure on the Trans Niger Pipeline.
Key Highlights:
The stakeholders drawn from Rivers, Imo and Abia States made the call in Port Harcourt, during the monthly stakeholders meeting organized by the Pipeline Infrastructure Nigeria Limited ,(PINL)
The stakeholders hinged the demand for greater support against the background of increased crude oil production recorded by Nigeria which led to crude production in excess of the OPEC approved quota for the country the first time in 2026.
The increase was attributed to the efforts of PINL in checking incidences of oil theft and pipeline vandalism on the Eastern Corridor of the TNP.
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Figures released by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) on June 11, showed that the national oil output rose by 2.2 percent in May, from 1.66 million barrels per day in April to about 1.70 million.
Crude oil production averaged 1.53 million barrels per day, above the country’s OPEC quota of 1.5 million for the first time this year.
Speaking at the forum, Chairman of the South South Traditional Rulers Council and king of Emohua in Emohua Local Government Area, Rivers State, Chief Sergeant Awuse, said that the pervasive insecurity across the country could make the Trans Niger Pipeline which is the domain of operation of PINL a target by economic saboteurs.
“Some people who are not patriotic enough will want to spoil your good works,” he said.
“This is the time the National Security Adviser and the relevant agencies should give you more support, because if our oil production goes down, it will affect every act of governance.”
Also, the king of Eleme Kingdom, Philip Obele said the PINL’s programmes had curbed youth restiveness, and that increased funding would expand youth and women empowerment across host communities
Earlier, Akpos Mezeh, PINL’s general manager for community and stakeholder relations, said the improvement in crude production reflected stronger operational stability on the TNP, deeper community participation, and a shared resolve among government, security agencies and host communities to reject crude theft and pipeline vandalism.
“The Trans Niger Pipeline continues to record remarkable operational stability,” he said, adding that more reliable infrastructure was contributing to government revenue, energy security and investor confidence.
Akponime Omojewvhe, head of field operations for the Eastern Corridor at NNPCL’s Project Monitoring Office, urged communities to report suspicious activity early, noting that timely information remained crucial to protecting the corridor.
