Photo caption: Trans Niger Pipeline
The Trans Niger Pipeline in Bodo Community, Gokana Local Government Area of Rivers State belonging to Renaissance Africa Energy Holdings has resumed operations after a fire incident on Monday night.
A company spokesman told our correspondent on Wednesday that the pipeline was tested and it passed the integrity, saying there was no blast on the facility.
“The pipeline is back in operation. First of all, we had no blasts or explosions in our facilities. We had an unauthorised entry from the operations. Then we sent a team there. The team saw that the site had been accessed.
“We got a call, and a team went out and saw that there were attempts at excavation and arson. But of course, the fire had burnt out. They did an inspection, and there was an adjacent pipeline. They tested that and it passed the integrity test. I think the operations went through that adjacent pipeline. Operations are ongoing as we speak,” the spokesman said, pleading anonymity due the nature of the matter.
The TNP transports 450,000 barrels of crude oil per day to the Bonny Export Terminal, using a pipeline network.
Renaissance Africa Energy Holdings just completed the landmark transaction between itself and Shell to acquire the entire equity holding in the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria.
Reports of an explosion on the pipeline were one of the reasons why President Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers State.
Confirming the incident on Tuesday, the Rivers State Police Public Relations Officer, Grace Iringe-Koko, said the fire was noticed on Monday night during a security patrol.
According to her, Renaissance was immediately alerted and the company shut down the affected pipeline and activated safety measures.
While saying there was no further threat to residents or the environment, the PPRO revealed that two individuals have been arrested for questioning as part of an ongoing investigation into the cause of the incident.
