From Fred Itua, Abuja
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO ) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mela Kyari, has raised the alarm over the rate of oil theft and pipeline vandalism in the country.
Kyari, who expressed his concern before the Senate’s joint committees on Petroleum ( Downstream), Petroleum (Upstream) and Gas, corroborated the recommendation by the law makers that capital punishment be put in place for offenders.
He noted that oil theft in Nigeria had been going on for about 22 years ago, but described the dimension and rate it has assumed in recent times as unprecedented.
He said: “As earlier stated, as a result of the oil theft, Nigeria losses about 600,000 barrels per day, which is not healthy for the nation’s economy and, in particular, the legal operators in the field, which had led to the close down of some of their operational facilities.
“But, in rising up to the highly disturbing challenge, NNPCL has, in recent time, in collaboration with relevant security agencies, clamped down on the economic saboteurs.
“In the course of the clamp down, within the last six weeks, 395 illegal refineries have been deactivated, 274 reservoirs destroyed, 1, 561 metal tanks destroyed, 49 trucks seized, and the most striking of all is the four kilometres illegal oil connection line from Forcados Terminal into the sea, which had been in operation undetected for nine solid years.”
He explained further to the committee, that in addressing the menace, NNPCL carried out aerial surveillance of the affected areas, and saw 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 licenced companies for oil exploration and production in the area,” he added.
He further added that being a problem requiring urgent solution, the Cambodia and Mexico models of involvement of non-state actors are being adopted by NNPCL with the involvement of three private security companies.
“It’s 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.