The steadfast protection of oil pipelines has been identified as a major element to guarantee Nigeria’s energy future.

The Pipeline Infrastructure Nigeria Limited (PINL) made the assertion through its General Manager, Community and Stakeholders Relations, Dr Akpos Mezeh, at the monthly stakeholders’ engagement forum of the company with host communities over the weekend in Yenagoa.

He pointed out that vigilance should be maintained to ensure economic saboteurs are kept at bay.

According to him, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited’s (NNPC Ltd’s) recent strategic agreements, including a 20-year Gas Sale and Aggregation Agreement with Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited; a 15-year Gas Supply Agreement with UTM FLNG, and network agreements expected to inject up to 800 million standard cubic feet of gas per day into Nigeria’s domestic gas transportation network can only deliver the required benefits if supporting infrastructure is protected.

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Mezeh said PINL has succeeded in ensuring protection of pipelines, adding, however, that lack of cooperation from host communities on surveillance could derail Nigeria’s energy future.

‘’However, these investments can only deliver their intended benefits when the supporting infrastructure remains protected from vandalism, crude oil theft and sabotage.

This is why the work we are doing together through community partnership has become even more significant.

‘’While we celebrate these achievements, we must remain vigilant. During the past month, uninterrupted operations were largely maintained across the Trans-Niger Pipeline and the Eastern Gas Network corridor through effective collaboration with security agencies, contractors and host communities.

‘’However, incidents of sabotage, attempted vandalism, and equipment failures were recorded in some operational areas. We are pleased to report that prompt interventions led to the repair of affected facilities, while suspects linked to incidents were arrested and investigations remain ongoing. These incidents reinforce the need for stronger surveillance, timely intelligence sharing and sustained collaboration among all stakeholders. Every timely report and every act of vigilance protects lives, preserves our environment and safeguard Nigeria’s economy.

Mezeh, while commending traditional rulers, security agencies and community leaders for their cooperation, which has continued to strengthen PINL operations, assured stakeholders that the company would continue to strengthen its community-based surveillance, expand youth and women empowerment initiatives, sustain scholarship programmes and promote peaceful conflict resolution and environmental sustainability.

He pointed out that following the success of PINL’s maiden scholarship programme, the Board and Management have approved it as a yearly intervention for students of our host communities throughout the duration of PINL’s contract with the Federal Government.

He noted that the gesture reflects our enduring commitment to education, youth development and sustainable community growth.

Meanwhile, the Chairman of Bayelsa State Traditional Rulers Council and Ibenanaowei of Ekpetiama Kingdom in Yenagoa Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, HRM King Bubaraye Dakolo, has implored the Federal Government to increase the funding for PINL to enable the company to strengthen its operation in protecting oil pipelines in the Niger Delta region.

The Monarch argued that increased funding for pipeline protection would ensure more resource allocation to host communities to address socio-economic factors.

In the bid to resolve the issues surrounding crude oil supply shortages to domestic refineries, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), are poised to hold strategic conversations with the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).

According to the NMDPRA, enhanced crude supply to local refineries has become imperative because Nigeria now boasts of about 1.125 million barrels a day (bpd) of installed refining capacity led by Dangote’s 700,000-bpd refinery, which has helped the West African nation transform into a net exporter of refined products.

It added that the Nigerian government is positive about refining all of her crude domestically, with the target production of 3 million barrels a day in the coming years in mind.

Nigeria still faces major structural constraints, including crude supply shortages, underperforming state-owned refineries and concerns over excessive dependence on Dangote.

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The director general (DG) of the Authority Rabiu Umar, dropped the hint in Lagos at the 49th annual conference of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Nigeria Council.

He explained that the federal government wants to end the pattern which sees more of locally produced crude exported, while refined products are imported.

“Every molecule of our three million barrels per day that we hope to achieve in the coming years will be refined locally,” Umar said.

To achieve that goal, the NMDPRA is working with the NUPRC to enforce domestic crude supply obligations. Nigerian petroleum law requires producers to supply part of their crude output to domestic refineries.

Umar called the requirement “really, really important” for supporting the expansion of Nigeria’s refining industry.

Nigeria now has 1.125 million barrels per day of installed refining capacity, according to the NMDPRA. The country reached that level for the first time in its history.

The Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals (DPRP) provides the bulk of that capacity. The facility reached its 700,000-bpd nameplate capacity during tests in June.

The refinery has also helped Nigeria become a net exporter of refined petroleum products. Dangote supplies 80 percent of domestic demand while exporting products to West Africa and Europe, Nigeria Housing Market reported in May.

The agency’s 3 million-bpd production target represents almost twice Nigeria’s current output.

The NUPRC estimated June production at about 1.73 million bpd. Nigeria must therefore first almost double crude production before it can refine all of its output domestically. That expansion will require several years of investment.

However, refineries operated by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) in Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna are operating below capacity.

The NNPC Ltd acknowledged in November 2025 that the facilities cannot match Dangote’s fuel quality.

The DPRP is also planning expansion to 1.4 million bpd.

However, concerns remain over the risks that a single dominant refiner could pose to the country’s fuel supply, as Agence Ecofin reported in May.

State-owned refineries remain part of the strategy. Their combined potential capacity exceeds 300,000 bpd. Yet the facilities have failed to reach their full potential despite more than $25 billion in public investment between 2003 and 2023.

The NNPC Ltd is now seeking private partners that will receive payment only when the refineries actually produce.

The approach contrasts with the previous model, which paid companies to rehabilitate the facilities regardless of their operating performance.

With the Middle East Crisis defined by the US-Iran faceoff creating major disruptions to global oil markets, Nigeria has become the source of stabilising the Indian energy industry.

It was gathered that India’s state-owned Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) recently bought a total of four million barrels of Nigerian crude, even as the country’s refiners frantically sought alternative supply sources to survive the persistent crisis.

According to Reuters, HPCL purchased two million barrels of Nigerian crude through tenders in two separate transactions, with the latest deal involving one million barrels each of Forcados and Bonga crude grades bought from Shell.

The cargoes are expected to supply HPCL’s Visakh refinery in Andhra Pradesh, southern India, which has a crude processing capacity of 300,000 barrels per day. The latest purchase came after HPCL earlier acquired another two million barrels of Nigerian crude from commodity trader Glencore through a tender.

The earlier purchase comprised one million barrels each of Okwuibome and Utapate crude grades from Nigeria. The crude bought from Glencore will be supplied to HPCL’s Rajasthan refinery, HPCL Rajasthan Refinery Limited, which has a processing capacity of 180,000 barrels per day.

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According to Oilprice.com, HPCL owns a 74 percent stake in HRRL, while the remaining stake is held by the Rajasthan State Government.

The purchases highlight the growing demand for Nigerian crude among Indian refiners as supplies from the Middle East remain disrupted by shipping constraints around the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb.

It was learnt that several Indian refiners have recently bought crude from Oman and West Africa through tenders as term supplies from the Middle East remain constrained.

India’s state-controlled Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL) has also acquired about one million barrels of Omani crude through a tender at a premium of about $3 per barrel to Dated Brent from Mitsui & Co Energy Trading Singapore, according to trade sources cited by Reuters earlier this week.

Meanwhile, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), the country’s largest refiner by capacity, has also bought four million barrels of West African crude from Chevron.

The purchase includes Angola’s Nemba, Saxi Batuque and Clov grades, as well as Congo’s Djeno crude. Indian refiners are increasingly looking to crude suppliers as far away as Angola in Africa and Venezuela in South America after term supplies from the Middle East were again disrupted in July and failed to reach India as scheduled.