The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) reported 121 crude oil theft incidents between July 29 and August 4, 2023.
This is according to the company’s Energy series which airs weekly on the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) Network.
According to the report, the crude theft incidents took place in Delta, Rivers, Bayelsa and Imo states. The report gave a breakdown of the crude theft incidents as follows:
- 24 illegal connections
- 52 illegal refineries
- 6 pipeline vandalism
- 26 wooden boats confiscated
- 12 vessel AIS infractions
- 1 oil spill
- 1 illegal vessel
Also, it was recorded that 12 of the incidents took place in the Deep Blue water, 7 took place in the Western region, 80 took place in the Central region and 23 took place in the Eastern region of the oil-producing part of Niger Delta.
Incidence sources
As outlined in the report, a series of incidents came to light involving various entities within the oil industry.
The Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) revealed a total of 12 incidents, while Pipeline Infrastructure Nigeria Limited revealed 22 incidents.
Additionally, Maton Engineering Nigeria Limited disclosed 22 incidents and GSIA reported 46 incidents.
Meanwhile, the NNPCL (Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited) Command and Control Center uncovered 12 incidents, with Tantita Security revealing 7 incidents.
However, the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) reported a singular incident within the highlighted period.
Note that in 2022, Bala Wunti, the Chief Upstream Investment Officer at the NNPC Upstream Investment Management Services (NUIMS), said that new security architecture against crude oil theft is anchored on rectangular architecture, reliant on a command-and-control centre technology that brings together the security and intelligence agencies, the regulators, and the community.
House committee chairman suspects something fishy
During an interview via Channels Television on Wednesday, August 9, Hon. Ikenga Ugochinyere, the Chairman, of the House Committee on Petroleum Resources Downstream at the Federal House of Representatives said that the destruction of vessels and other materials used in carrying out crude theft could be a pointer to suspicious movements.
He called to question the reasons behind the burning of vessels found, meanwhile, the country could make use of the crude and other materials found in the crude theft business. He said:
- “When our committee members met yesterday, we decided that we are going to investigate the economic reasons behind wasting those resources. Or is it that somebody says we are burning it and takes it and does something with it?
- “How does it sound economically for you to waste something that is going to generate revenue? We are not going to make laws for every mistake people are making. It is all about administrative direction, that if you get it, you put it in storage because it is government property.
- “There is no basis for you to say you are going to burn it except there is something that goes on that we do not know, and we intend to find out why they keep destroying it.”
SOURCE: Nairametrics