• NNPC dismisses reports of explosion at PH refinery, says it’s flare
• Geometric announces power outage in Abia

Security operatives have arrested a suspect in connection with the explosion that occurred on the Trans Niger Pipeline (TNP) Right of Way, on Sunday, at Aluu community, Ikwerre Local Council of Rivers State.

However, the TNP in the Bodo community, Gokana Local Council of the state, resumed operations yesterday.

This was as the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) dismissed reports of an explosion at the Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC) in the state, saying it was a “flare incident”.

Meanwhile, Geometric Power Aba Limited (GPAL), an indigenous electricity company, has announced electricity disruption within its franchise area in Abia State.

According to sources, the arrest was made possible by credible intelligence gathered by the covert team of Pipeline Infrastructure Nigeria Limited (PINL) in Aluu.

An operations staff member of PINL, who identified himself as Ebikeme, confirmed the arrest to journalists, yesterday.

He said:  “On Sunday, March 16, 2025, there was a blast on the TNP Pipeline Right of Way in Aluu Zone 5, and a suspected vandal was found dead at the site of the incident from the effect of the blast,” he said.

Ebikeme further stated that upon further investigation, another suspected vandal was apprehended in connection with the incident.

He added: “The suspect is in police custody, while further investigation is being carried out to nab all other perpetrators in the act.”

This incident is not an isolated one, as similar blasts occurred on Monday night and Tuesday morning at Bodo and an oil facility in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Council.

The arrest of the suspect was seen as a significant breakthrough in the investigation, and security agencies were working to unravel the circumstances surrounding the explosion and apprehend other culprits involved.

CRUDE oil flowing into TNP has been routed through an alternative line after blasts ruptured the main line on Tuesday, a spokesperson for Renaissance told newsmen.

The spokesperson said the alternative line passed an integrity test, yesterday, and subsequently crude was diverted as repairs continued on the main line.

He also said that after preliminary investigations, arson was suspected.

The TNP, with a capacity of around 450,000 barrels per day, is one of two pipelines exporting Bonny Light crude from Nigeria, Africa’s biggest oil producer. It is owned by the Nigerian oil consortium, Renaissance Group, after Shell’s local unit sold its shares to Renaissance Energy, which includes Nigerian exploration and production companies Aradel Energy, First E&P, Waltersmith and ND Western, along with the international energy group, Petroline.

TNP, a critical federal oil transport line, feeds crude oil to the Bonny export terminal in Rivers.

The explosion led to a temporary shutdown and raised concerns about potential environmental damage and oil supply disruption in the region.

Renaissance Group’s spokesperson, Tony Okonedo, told newsmen: “Operations have resumed. We previously suspended operations to respond to third-party interference, but now we have resumed.”

EARLIER yesterday, reports claimed that there was a fire outbreak at the Port Harcourt refinery, which lasted for 20 minutes but was immediately contained.

Debunking the reports, the Chief Corporate Communications Officer of NNPCL, Olufemi Soneye, stated that the incident was a controlled flare incident that had been fully contained.

Soneye reassured the public that there was no explosion, danger, or health hazard to refinery staff, surrounding communities and the environment.

He urged the media and the public to “disregard any report suggesting an explosion at the refinery, as they are entirely false”.

GEOMETRIC Power, in a statement yesterday, noted that the drop in power supply was due to an explosion at TNP, its primary gas supplier.

He said: “We have just been informed by our primary power supplier, GPAL, of an incident on the TNP, through which its gas supplier transports gas to its customers, including GPAL. The incident, which happened in the early hours of Tuesday, affected GPAL’s generation capacity and our power supply to our customers.

“We are in close contact with GPAL and other stakeholders and are actively monitoring the situation. We are advised that efforts are ongoing to resolve the issue as quickly as possible. In the interim, we will continue to supply power through grid import from Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC).”

According to him, the resolution of the incident will be soon enough to ensure that the interruption of the power supply does not significantly impact the customers.

He added: “We will continue to provide you with updates on the progress made in resolving the incident.”