Pipeline Vandalism in Nigeria: Recommended Best Practice of Checking the Menace

Abstract Pipeline vandalism, in the context of this paper, refers to the willful or deliberate act of damaging petroleum pipelines with the sole aim of stealing crude oil and associated petroleum products. In the Nigerian oil & gas industry, the effects of pipeline vandalism among others include huge economic losses from pipeline & plant shutdown, environmental pollution, fire outbreaks usually resulting in loss of lives. Scarcity & shortage of petroleum products as well as decrease in electricity supply with the attendant socio-economic problems can also be attributed to pipeline vandalism. In Nigeria petroleum and associated products are transported through extensive network of pipelines that run across different locations throughout the country from remote to populated areas. These pipelines are however poorly secured thereby making them targets of repetitive attacks by vandals. Various steps have been taken by government for efficient service delivery but the problems appear to be on the increase. This paper presents an overview of the existing arrangement of pipeline monitoring protocols and recommended Best Practice for prudent pipeline management in Nigeria.