Cost-Benefit and Safety Comparison of Road and Pipeline Transport for Petroleum Products in Kano Depot, Nigeria

The Nigerian downstream petroleum sector faces numerous challenges, including underutilised refineries, poorly maintained pipelines and storage facilities, vandalism, and inadequate transportation infrastructure, all of which hinder the efficient supply and distribution of refined petroleum products nationwide. Originally intended as a supplementary method, road transportation has largely replaced pipeline transport for petroleum product delivery. This descriptive study examines the supply sources, safety implications, costs, and socioeconomic impacts of shifting from pipeline to road truck transportation at the Kano Depot. Data were collected from primary sources through a questionnaire-based survey of 81 randomly selected participants from ten oil transport companies and secondary sources, including interviews, journals, articles, online resources, reports, and templates from relevant petroleum sector agencies. Data analysis was conducted using descriptive and inferential statistics via the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The results identify key supply sources and highlight safety challenges such as poor road conditions, accidents, mechanical failures, and human factors, with correlations indicating interrelationships among these constraints. Cost related issues, including delivery shortages and transportation expenses, were also quantified. The study further evaluates the positive and negative socioeconomic impacts of this transportation shift, with significant p-values derived from various analytical methods.