How we are fighting oil theft, vandalism - Kyari

Although oil theft and vandalism persist across oil fields in the country, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has collaborated with relevant security agencies to clamp down on saboteurs.

The NNPCL’s Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari, disclosed this at the Senate’s joint committees on Petroleum (Upstream and Downstream) and Gas on Tuesday.

While he noted that Nigeria is in a calamitous situation over oil theft, and pipeline vandalism with attendant low production, he said at least 395 illegal refineries have been deactivated.

Mr Kyari also proposed capital punishment for offenders.

The NNPCL earlier disclosed that it loses 470,000 bpd of crude oil amounting to $700 million monthly due to oil theft.

PREMIUM TIMES also reported how Nigeria, amid dwindling revenue, lost $10 billion to crude oil theft in seven months.

Mr Kyari’s revelations come about two weeks after a group of lawyers petitioned the Senate Ad-Hoc committee over alleged oil theft from the Ugo Ocha export terminal at OML 42.

The OML 42, an oil field located in the swamps of the western Niger Delta, is operated by NECONDE Energy Limited. The terminal has four flow stations with a combined production capacity of around 30,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd).

At the hearing which lasted over four hours, Mr Kyari said in the last six weeks, 395 illegal refineries have been deactivated, 274 reservoirs destroyed, 1,561 metal tanks destroyed, 49 trucks seized and a 4-kilometres illegal oil connection line from Forcados Terminal into the sea – which had been in operation undetected for nine years – detected.

The NNPCL, he explained, carried out aerial surveillance of the affected areas and discovered “the economic saboteurs carrying out their activities unchallenged and unperturbed.

The problem at hand is not only security but social as locals in most areas where the illegal refiners operate unknowingly serve as their employees by mistaking them for operatives of licensed companies for oil exploration and production in the area.”

The NNPCL boss further informed the lawmakers that the Cambodia and Mexico models of involvement of non-state actors are being adopted by the group by involving three private security companies.

“It is not abnormal to involve non-state actors for protection of oil pipelines and other critical infrastructure as done in Cambodia and Mexico which produced desired results,” he said.

A member of the committee, Bassey Akpan (PDP, Akwa Ibom North East), also recommended that capital punishment be put in place for offenders.

The chairman of the panel, Sabo Nakudu (APC, Jigawa South West), informed the NNPCL boss that oversight functions will be carried out in Port Harcourt and Warri refineries which are said to have been rehabilitated.