CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1       BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Pipeline transportation is the youngest among the other means of transportation in Nigeria.  It has not received much attention because of two major factors. One is that it is relatively a recent origin.  Two is the its operations and services are not in the hands of private individuals and companies.  Hence everything about pipeline transportation in Nigeria is strictly in the hands of the federal government.

            According to Kupoheyi (2000) pipelines have been in use for transporting materials for centuries.  Hence in the urban areas, pipelines are used for distributing potable water.  Though the pipelines network for the transportation and distribution of water in urban areas are usually short, they uses the same basic principles as the ones for distributing petroleum products.  The point to note here is that pipelines were first used for distributing water.  Later they were used for mooring gases and a variety of liquids within plants, between plants, as well as between locations for apart.  Today pipelines are widely used for transporting petroleum products and some solids that are suspended in liquids over long distances.

            Olakunori (2000) reported that petroleum pipelines made only recent discovery into Nigeria.  According to him, the products pumped through the Nigeria pipelines include the following

-           Premium motor spirit (PMS) otherwise know as petrol;

-           Automotive Gas Oil (AGO), otherwise known as diesel;

-           Household Kerosene, (HHK).

            In addition to these, avaiation turbine kerosene (ATW, otherwise known as avgas, is often pumped from Mosimi to Ikeja Airport regularly.  Pumping is usual done in butches of between 15000 to 50000 cubic meters in such a way as to avoid contamination.  Delivery of the various products grades into storage is strictly monitored and controlled from the control centres located in Mosimi, Warri, Kaduna, and Port Harcourt.  Once pumping begins and a product leaves the refinery tanks, its arrival time at any particular depot can easily be forecasted.  (Olusunmade, 2001).

            Liquefied natural gas (LPG) is pumped through the Escravos – Lagos Pipeline (ELP) dedicated to gas.  This, at present, is the only operational gas pipeline that has been completed in the country (Adeyinka, 2000).  According to Udensi (1999) the Nigeria government intends to extend the gas pipeline to other West African countries in order to encourage gas utilization and exploit the commercial opportunities in the sub-region.  Some of these countries in this regard include.

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