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Government charges N50 for multi-billion pipelines licences

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NNPC’s partner Pan Ocean builds longest oil pipeline in Africa

Sixty-three years after the Oil Pipelines Act came into force, the country has continued to charge a meagre N50 for licences to operate pipeline networks worth $4.6 million, The Guardian reports.

The newspaper writes that verification from the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) showed that over 85 per cent of the networks are in the hands of the private sector, while the rest, basically used to transport products, resides with the government.

It also notes that while Nigeria has approximately 15,000 kilometres of pipeline network, constructing a kilometre costs as much as $4.6 million. The Abuja-Kaduna-Kano pipeline has a length of 614km. It is thought to be worth $2.8 billion, bringing the cost per kilometre to $4.6 million.

Read also: BUSINESS REVIEW: Nigerian economy failing because its managers choose to walk backward into the future

Section 31 (Sub-section One to Six) of the Act states: “The applicant for a permit to survey shall pay a fee of twenty naira upon submitting his application, and a fee of fifty naira upon the grant of such permit. The applicant for a licence shall pay a fifty-naira fee upon the submission of his application, and a fee of N200 upon the grant of such licence. The holder of a permit shall pay a fee of N50 in respect of each variation of such permit. The holder of a licence shall pay a fee of N200 in respect of each variation of such licence. An annual fee shall be paid on each licence of twenty naira per mile (1.6km) of the length of the pipeline, subject to a minimum of N200. The holder of a licence shall pay a fee of N100 upon submitting his application for a restriction order under Section 12 of this act, and a fee of such amount as the minister may determine, not exceeding N400 on such order being made.”

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