The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) yesterday confirmed a late night fire, which gutted a pipeline near its Atlas Cove Jetty in Lagos.
Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division of the NNPC, Ohi Alegbe, who confirmed this, said that the corporation has shut down products supply from Atlas Cove through the pipeline.
The Atlas Cove Depot belongs to the Pipelines and Products Marketing Company (PPMC), a subsidiary of the NNPC, and Alegbe blamed the latest incident on the facility on vandals.
The fire incident lasted for several hours before it was extinguished by fire fighters.
Alegbe, however, stated that the unfortunate incident was caused by vandals, who tapped into the pipelines to scoop fuel.
The incident, the NNPC spokesperson said, would not cause fuel scarcity.
He added that the corporation has swiftly shut down the pipeline when the fire was spotted.
Ilado area, where the latest vandal point was recorded has been a flash point for vandals whose stock in trade is to tap into the pipelines and scoop fuel with canoes.
Alegbe said officials of the NNPC are already at the scene to assess the extent of damage to the facility.
While stating that that the extent of the damage would be ascertained as soon as the fire was put out, the NNPC spokesman said that a full-fledge investigation has commenced to unravel the immediate and remote causes of the fire incidence.
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