By Chisaa Okoye (Business reporter)
Crude oil theft remains a major headache for the Nigerian government and oil companies operating in the country.
This hydra-headed monster which defied all known solutions proffered by successive administrations, has continued to flourish in the oil producing region despite the heavy security presence.
Besides huge losses in revenue, this nefarious activity has caused extensive damage to the environment, resulting in very severe health issues.
This showed that over nine million barrels of oil were stolen in just one quarter, which amounted to a loss in government revenue of about $1 billion as at then.
Corroborating Komolafe’s statement a fortnight ago, the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of NNPC Limited, Mallam Mele Kyari revealed that Nigeria loses about $1.9 billion revenue monthly to activities of oil thieves and pipeline vandals.
Speaking in the same vein, Sylva, who led the delegation noted that the problem of crude theft could not be handled in Abuja alone and required the support of the government and the oil communities.
Governor Okowa, who lamented the negative impact of crude oil theft on the Nigerian economy and the environment, suggested that reviewing oil surveillance contracts based on performance of the contractors and engagement of host communities would ensure effectiveness in securing the nation’s oil and gas assets.
Sylva, Kyari, Others meet Uzodimma in Imo
Also, the federal government delegation on anti-oil theft led by Timipre Sylva, last week, met with Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State at the Government House Owerri to discuss the strategies to curb crude oil theft in the state.
At the well attended meeting, the Minister sought the support of Governor Uzodimma and oil producing communities in Imo State in the fight against oil theft and pipeline vandalism.
Sylva said the problem of crude oil theft has reached a level of national emergency” and that “the situation cannot be handled in Abuja alone.
“It is a national emergency because the theft has grown wings and has reached a very bad crescendo. This is because the thefts are taking place in the communities that host the oil pipelines and as a result, it has become necessary to involve the stakeholders, especially the host communities.
The minister further noted that because of the “height and the orchestrated nature of oil theft, Nigeria could not take the advantage and opportunities that are bound in the gas production because no investor would want to invest where there is incessant insecurity and vandalism of the infrastructure.”
He said the collaboration of the state government and the people at the grassroot was required to stem crude oil theft in the state.
Responding, Governor Uzodimma, who decried the alarming rate of crude oil theft, expressed regret that the problem has not only led to drop in earnings for the government but has also created environmental pollution and other health hazards.
Uzodimma said: “Crude oil theft is run by a cabal and a cartel that are always ready to resist the security agencies. This, in other words, informs that the oil thieves and pipeline vandals are sophisticated in their operations, which means there is the need for a strong support to the Armed Forces and other para-military agencies that are involved in the protection of the Nigerian oil economy.”
He emphasized the need for cooperation among stakeholders to bring an end to the decade long problem. He promised that Imo State Government will do her best to support and work with the Federal Government, the Army and Oil producing companies to achieve the fight against pipeline vandalism and crude oil theft.
“It has come to a point where all hands must be on deck to save Nigeria, save the economy, create job, discourage banditry and the pollution of our environment and the water resources”, he stressed.
Crude Oil Theft Monitoring App
A major breakthrough in the fight against oil theft and pipeline vandalism was the launch of crude oil theft App on Friday by the NNPCL.
The app called ‘Crude Theft Monitoring Applications was launched in Abuja on the sideline of the signing of renewed Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs) agreements between NNPCL and its partners in Oil Mining Leases.
The portal with the address ‘stopcrudetheft.com was developed with the agreement of oil industry partners, government regulatory bodies, security agencies and host communities.
The portal, which could be accessed through a mobile phone, has application options for reporting incidences, with prompt follow up and responses and another one for crude sales documents validation.
Kyari speaking at the launch, said that pipeline vandalism had became a difficult thing to deal with”, thus, the decision of the NNPCL to engage its partners, regulatory agencies and security agencies to put up a robust framework to check the menace.
“There are still ongoing activities of oil thieves and vandals on our pipelines and assets, very visible in the form of illegal refineries that are continuously put up in some locations and insertions into our pipeline network.
“Arrests have been made and vessels have been arrested by Nigerian Navy, I commend the Armed Forces, in the last three months, they have done substantive work and had destroyed some illegal refineries,” he said.
The NNPCL boss stated that international refineries who patronise the oil thieves but fail to buy from credible sources which could be validated, “would be held responsible as part of the culprits involved.”
He further noted that every product that left the country must have a unique registration number by the NNPC and validated by the NUPRC.
“Ahead of this, we are also creating a platform where end-users, particularly refiners and traders can validate the product.
“We cannot do this without international collaboration. It is impossible for any refinery to take a crude they do not know the source, refineries are designed to process certain specific grade of crude.
“It is their duty to ensure that they validate this, because we have unique number of every crude that leaves this country”, he stressed.
Oil thieving involves highly technical syndicates that operate within and beyond the shores of Nigeria, thus the Crude Theft Monitoring Applications, no doubt could be a game changer in the fight against oil theft and pipeline vandalism in Nigeria. With this, activities of local and international criminal syndicates that make a fortune by stealing Nigeria’s oil would be restrained.
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