FG to repair damaged pipelines with N320bn -Deziani (Another avenue to steal)

Posted by admin Latest Politics, Women Politics Tuesday, November 22nd, 2011

At last, the Minister of Petroleum, Mrs. Deziani Allison-Madueke yesterday appeared before the House of Representatives where she disclosed that the Federal government had set aside the sum of $2 billion (N320 billion) to repair damaged pipelines in the next 12 months.

Briefing the House Committee on Petroleum (upstream), she apologized to the committee for her absence on two occasions, saying that it was state functions, which kept her away.

The minister admitted that she received the letters of invitations sent to her, but that she had to attend to other duties like the commissioning of the 128 kilometer Calabar Gas Pipeline owned by Oando Petroleum on Monday.
She pleaded with the committee chaired by Hon Muraina Ajibola that she would not be able to explain the activities of the ministry as she had to join the presidential train to France last night.

Apart from the repair of the pipelines, the minister informed the committee that the ministry would among other things try achieve maximum compliance with the gas flare-down policy of the Federal Government within the period.

According to her, the ultimate aim of government was to ensure that Gas takes over from Oil in the next three and a half years by developing Gas to a level where it would take over as the mainstay of the nation’s export.
She disclosed that the ministry will pursue the implementation of the local content policy and discourage crude oil theft.
Attention will also be focused on the development of the marginal fields and inland basins, adding that Deep shore fields would also receive the attention of the ministry.
The minister listed the major challenges facing the petroleum industry as Funding Problems, Flare-down and Flare penalty, Inadequate Gas Infrastructure, Pipeline integrity and vandalism, multiplicity of regulators and inadequate and obsolete petroleum laws, among others.

-Sunwp_posts