Abuja: Chief Ukadike Chinedu, an oil marketer, has urged the Federal Government to modernize petroleum pipelines to ensure seamless product distribution and reduce dependence on trucks. Chinedu, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Subas Nigeria Ltd., made the call while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja. He also called for the rehabilitation of Nigeria’s obsolete petroleum pipelines to improve fuel distribution and reduce transportation costs.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, Chinedu, who also serves as the Publicity Secretary for the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), emphasized that Nigeria was originally designed to have 21 petroleum depots across the country, supplied through pipelines from the nation’s refineries. The pipeline network connects refineries in Kaduna, Warri, and Port Harcourt with depots across different parts of the country. For instance, the System 2E pipeline network links the Port Harcourt Refinery to its depot in Aba, Enugu, and Makurdi, with petroleum products supplied to other areas.
He pointed out that the collapse of the refineries and poor management had rendered many of the pipelines obsolete. The pipelines have become rusty due to prolonged neglect, while vandalism and insecurity have further affected their operations. Discussions on refinery investments should also address the rehabilitation of distribution infrastructure required to move refined petroleum products across the country.
Chinedu highlighted that reliance on trucks for petroleum distribution had increased transportation costs, with products sometimes transported over 500 kilometers to their destinations. Such long-distance transportation could take three to five days, creating significant gaps in the petroleum products supply chain. The marketer urged the federal government to collaborate with Chinese investors to develop modern pipeline systems capable of detecting vandalism and resisting corrosion. Modern pipelines would enable refineries to efficiently evacuate products once they became fully operational.
Chinedu noted that functional pipelines would also reduce the need for trucks to transport petroleum products over long distances, thereby reducing pressure on Nigeria’s roads. He described the current dependence on road for fuel distribution as a serious threat to the petroleum sector and national infrastructure. As an immediate measure to ease fuel distribution, he suggested the use of cargo transportation, particularly through riverine areas. However, Chinedu stressed that temporary measures would not address the fundamental challenges confronting petroleum products distribution.
He compared short-term interventions to using paracetamol to treat a serious chronic headache. Chinedu stated that modern pipeline technology could detect people approaching the facilities and provide immediate feedback, while also enabling faster transportation of petroleum products. He estimated that Nigeria was losing trillions of naira through inefficient fuel distribution, while stressing that the human and infrastructural costs could not be easily quantified.