Acute shortage of petroleum products being experienced nationwide may worsen following Wednesday�s suspension of supply through the pipelines from Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company.
The action taken by the management of the Pipelines and Products Marketing Company, a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, was sequel to attacks on the Warri/Benin flow line conveying refined petroleum products from the Warri jetty to other parts of the country.
The step coincided with the vandalisation of the pipeline belonging to the PPMC at Oghara and Sapele in Delta State as well as a location in Ologbo, in Edo State, on Wednesday.
Journalists who visited the areas sighted some residents of Oghara, the headquarters of Ethiope West Local Area of Delta State, scooping petroleum products from a ruptured portion of the flow line.
The latest attacks occurred less than 24hours after the pipeline caught fire shortly after it was ruptured by yet-to-be-identified persons at Adeje, Okpe Local Government.
The pipeline was conveying kerosene to Benin depot before it caught fire.
Findigs by our correspondent, who visited Adeje on Wednesday, showed that the fire was put out at about 10am by a combined team of men of fire services from some oil majors and the Delta State Government.
Although no life was lost in the incident, our correspondent gathered that some persons sustained varying degrees of burns.
A source in the PPMC�s Area Office, Warri, said, �Nobody died because the pipeline was conveying kerosene, it would have been a different story if it was carrying petrol.
�The report available from the security agents on Tuesday to the extent that some people died in the fire was because they thought that the pipeline was conveying petrol.
�But some persons were injured and we learnt that they were being treated secretly. We have alerted the security agents to ascertain their whereabouts.�
Findings by our correspondent showed that the management of the PPMC resumed supply of petroleum products through the pipeline from Warri Refinery to other parts of the country, particularly, Benin depot, just last Monday.
The vandals swung into action in less than 24hours.
Our correspondent gathered that the management of the NNPC subsidiary suspended supply of petroleum products through the pipelines to pave the way for the repair of the ruptured portions and work out strategies to deal with the ugly development.
The Public Relation Manager of the PPMC, Mr. Ralph Ugwu, confirmed the report in a telephone interview, adding that the action was inevitable following the fate of the pipeline.