… As Nigeria records lowest oil attacks in 16-years
The secrets of Nigeria steady crude oil rise seem to be let out. This was at a forum in Port Harcourt in the week organised by Pipeline Infrastructure Nigeria Limited (PINL).
Every month in the past several months, a stakeholders’ forum of pipeline host communities is convened in Port Harcourt and later in some other state capitals in Bayelsa, Imo, and Abia.
This is where the firm engaged by the NNPCL (FG) and the communities meet to share notes. PINL which operates in four states called Eastern Corridor shows slides of what is happening and what it is doing, including its packages for the communities. In return, the host communities express their grievances and make demands and suggestions which many say have been helpful in recent times.
A major point to note is that the petroleum laws seem to consider host communities of oil wells but little note had been taken of pipeline communities and others called impacted communities, who have actually posed huge threats. Now, the pipeline protection strategy seems to extend much attention and benefits to this category of oil communities. This is said to have dramatically shot the daily production up from 900,000bpd to now close to 1.8mbpd.
Now, pipeline protection firms in the oil region seem to step up engagement of Niger Delta youths in the race to 2mbpd. This is as Nigeria is said to have recorded the lowest oil attacks in 16 years.
One of them, the PINL, says it has engaged over 35,000 youths so far and that it has led to zero-incidents in the past few months.
PINL is in charge of surveillance operations in the Eastern Corridor of the Trans Niger Pipeline (TNP) comprising protection of critical and other national assets.
This is as Nigeria’s gas production output has reportedly risen to 7.59billion standard cubic feet (bscf) in the month of July according to the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulation Commission (NUPRC).
Akpos Mezeh, General Manager, Community Relations and Stakeholders Engagement of PINL, announced the figure of the youth employment during the monthly stakeholders meeting with host communities along the Trans Niger Pipeline in Port Harcourt on September 25, 2025.
Mezeh said with the additional responsibilities of securing gas assets in the Eastern Corridor, more surveillance jobs have been created for youths in the region.
The PINL official while applauding the Federal Government’s commitment towards mitigating unemployment in the country and Niger Delta in particular through the expansion of the surveillance jobs, urged other tiers of government to provide more opportunities for youths in the Niger Delta.
“At PINL, while our primary mandate is ‘go secure the Trans Niger Pipeline (TNP)’, we have expanded our scope to include other oil and gas facilities including gas lines in the Eastern Corridor. This expanded operation is a call to duty, and aptly aligns with the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
“With the recent deployment of additional workers due to the expanded scope, PINL provides direct employment to over 35,000 youths across Niger Delta and oil-bearing communities.
Giving a scorecard of their operations in the last one month, Mezeh said the company recorded zero-infractions on the TNP, uninterrupted operations on the Eastern Corridor and peace in host communities while crude oil losses dropped to 16 years low as reported by Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Corporation (NUPRC).
He attributed the feat to the collaboration of the communities and stakeholders.
He reported, however, that there were attempts to breach the TNP at Bonny and Eteo community in Eleme but were foiled by combined team of security personnel while suspected vandals in Ikata and Ogbo communities of Ahead East were undergoing prosecution by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).
Despite the successes, Mezeh regretted that incidents of stakeholders’ connivance, leadership disputes in some communities, amongst others still threaten the smooth operations of protecting oil pipelines.
The company assured continued partnership with their partners, the ONSA, the NNPCL, and relevant government agencies to find lasting solutions to the challenges facing the host communities.
Mezeh urged the communities to continue to work with the firm not just as partners but as a family in securing the TNP on the Eastern corridor.
NUPRC in a statement said Nigeria has witnessed steady growth over the past three years, with daily average production hitting 7.59 bscf with simultaneous decline in flaring, adding that the feat underscored the commission’s drive to boost production while advancing its 2030 zero-flare commitment.”
This, it added, marked an 8.58 percent increase compared to the 6.99 bscfd recorded in the full year of 2024.
“The 7.59 bscfd daily average also represents a 9.84 per cent increase from the 6.91 bscfd posted in the full year of 2023, which shows a sustained rise in gas production.
“The 7.59 bscfd daily average also represents a 9.84% increase from the 6.91 bscfd posted in the full year of 2023, which shows a sustained rise in gas production.
“Apart from an increase in production, the Commission also reported a continued reduction in gas flaring, which fell to 7.16$ in July 2025, down from 7.55% in 2024 and 7.38% in the corresponding period of 2023,” the statement added.
Meanwhile, stakeholders from the host communities have lauded PINL for fighting unemployment in the communities through the engagement of the surveillance workers.
The stakeholders who include Emeni Ibe, President-General of Orashi People’s Congress, and Orr Sunday Orr, Eleme Coordinator of Ogoni Oil and Gas Host Communities Youths Forum, said with the efforts and commitment of PINL, vandalism, oil theft, and illegal bunkering have drastically reduced in Niger Delta region and Ogoni in particular.
“Ogoni Oil and Gas Host Communities Youths Forum is aware of the Federal Government’s numerous policies and strategies aimed at safeguarding the pipelines, improving the standards of host communities, and increasing oil production and as such, we hereby pass a vote of confidence on PINL as the company with the right strategy in securing the TNP in Niger Delta region and Ogoni in particular,” Orr said.
He called on all host communities to embrace and sustain the relationship with the company assuring thus, “Ogoni youths will continue to provide the necessary support and enabling to the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) and PINL in our domain.”
On his part, President-General of Orashi People’s Congress, Emeni Ibe, commended the company for engaging over 35,000 youths from the host communities.
He pointed out that the coming of PINL has changed the narratives of unemployment in the area, adding that if other companies had done what PINL is now doing, cases of pipeline vandalism would have been a thing of the past.
“The coming of PINL is changing the narratives in our area so I join others to pass a vote of confidence on them,” Ibe stated.
Vote of confidence on PINL
Many chiefs, community leaders and activists from the various states who spoke at the forum admitted that the PINL approach has given them a voice, saying if the multinationals have played this way, there would not have been violence in the oil region.
The stakeholders thus passed a confidence vote on the operations of PINL.
The confidence became louder when the company announced the engagement of over 35,000 youths as surveillance workers across the 215 host communities along the corridor.
Leading the commendation on the company, Orr Sunday Orr, an engineer, who spoke on behalf of the Ogoni Oil and Gas Host Communities Youths Forum, said after painstakingly assessing the operations of the company, they had come to the resolution that they have the right strategy in protecting critical assets in the area.
He acknowledged that PINL’s operations have led to a drastic reduction in cases of pipeline vandalism, oil theft, illegal bunkering, environmental pollution, amongst others.
“Ogoni Oil and Gas Host Communities Youths Forum is aware of the Federal Government numerous policies and strategies aimed at safeguarding the pipelines, improving the standards of host communities and increasing oil production and as such, we hereby pass a vote of confidence on PINL as the company with the right strategy in securing the TNP in Niger Delta region and Ogoni in particular,” Orr said.
Also speaking, Emeni Ibe, president-general of Orashi People’s Congress, commended the company for engaging such high number of youths from the host communities.
He pointed out that the coming of PINL has changed the narratives of unemployment in the area, adding that if other companies had done what PINL is doing, cases of pipeline vandalism would have been a thing of the past.
Ibe said lack employment and hunger fueled vandalism, urging multinationals to respect and implement the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), saying “full implementation of the PIA will bring harmonious relationship between the companies and communities and there will be no more pipeline vandalism”.
Stakeholders urge FG to expand scope of PINL mandate to include assets and new areas:
Meanwhile, the community leaders and stakeholders have demanded for expansion of the scope of work to the firm protecting pipelines in the eastern corridor. This is following the sustained record of increased oil and gas production in recent times.
PINL is the surveillance contractor in charge of the Trans Niger Pipeline TNP, which criss-crosses the four states of the Niger Delta, namely Rivers, Bayelsa, Imo and Abia States.
Stakeholders of the TNP while speaking at the September engagement in Port attributed the increased output in oil and gas production to the positive impact of PINL on oil and gas host communities.
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulation Commission (NUPRC) had in a recent statement said that Nigeria’s gas production figure rose to an average of 7.59 billion standard cubic feet in July, 2025, just the same way it had earlier reported consistent increase in crude oil production.
The commission said that Nigeria has witnessed sustained steady growth over the past three years, with daily average production hitting 7.59 bscf with simultaneous decline in flaring, adding that the feat underscored the commission’s drive to boost production while advancing its 2030 zero-flare commitment.
This, it said, marked an 8.58% increase compared to the 6.99 bscfd recorded in the full year of 2024.
“The 7.59 bscfd daily average also represents a 9.84 per cent increase from the 6.91 bscfd posted in the full year of 2023, which shows a sustained rise in gas production.
Orashi People’s Congress group expressed happiness with PINL, saying: “Our people which includes Abua/Odual, Ahoada East and West, Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni have asked me to convey their gratitude for regularly holding this stakeholders meeting.”
He added, “Our area is criss-crossed with several oil pipelines and in the campaign against vandalism, we have agreed to partner with the PINL.
“We are calling on the Federal Government to provide more funds to the company. We are pleased with their trainings and their scholarship for our youths. This is what we are expecting and if these things are done, pipeline vandalism will be a thing of the past.
“PINL is changing the narratives in our area so I join others to pass a vote of confidence on PINL.
Also speaking, Ajenkebiokpomaa Orlu, from Soku community said his people want the federal government to include the community in the scope of job covered by PINL.
“We have been hearing about PINL in Rivers State and other neighboring communities but it’s like a surprise to us because Soku as a major player in the oil and gas sector, we are not part of their operations. We are supposed to be part of it as major oil bearing community with the largest gas plant in West Africa and other oil facilities.
“I’m here to tell Federal Government, NNPCL and PINL to include Soku community in their scope of job and mostly for the Federal Government to expand PINL’s scope of work in the area to include Soku oilfield.
Speaking with journalists on the sidelines of the engagement, Akpos Mezeh- General Manager Community Relations and Stakeholders Engagement, explained that Soku Tombia, Rumuji, Ogba, Abha, Gbarain all host gas lines. “We have engaged workers from those communities to help go secure the lines.”
He expressed hope that the Federal Government would expedite action in expanding PINL’s contract to cover those areas.
Mezeh stated, “Soku is a major oil and gas host community and by virtue of the fact that our current contract on TNP does not cover Soku, we’ve been able to cover them based on the limited resources we have and so far, we’ve been doing wonderfully well there, courtesy of the support we get from the community and there has been no incident of vandalism in Soku.
“We are calling on the Federal Government to expedite action on the formalising the expansion that we are already doing to cover the areas outside our primary mandate.
We have Soku, Tombia, Rumuji, Ogba, Abha, Gbarain which host gas lines and we have engaged workers from those communities to help go secure the lines and so we hope that the Federal Government would expedite action in expanding our contract to cover those areas.
“We have expanded our operations into gas and we are into the sixth month and the results is clear and from the report of NUPRC, gas production has increased.
“We’ve done a lot to ensure that gas facilities are given adequate protection. We have engaged more workers from the communities where gas lines are criss-crossing and although that’s not our primary area of responsibility but we are doing that as a duty call to ensure that we support the Federal Government and that’s why we are calling on the Federal Government to formalise the work that we are already doing.”
