Oil Theft: Experts Call For Declaration Of Emergency In Oil And Gas Sector

Escalating oil theft by criminals is eating up resources of the country. Industry operators are calling for declaration of emergency in the oil and gas sector to halt the menace. Recently, security agents operating across the country reported the recovery of stolen crude oil valued at N86.2 billion in August alone.

Also, a total of 16, 000 litres of diesel valued at N800/litres (N12.8m), were reported to have been recovered by members of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps in Cross River.

Confirming the situation, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr Timipre Sylva, said that the country loses 400,000 barrels of crude daily via oil theft.

He described the development as a “national emergency” and regretted that the nation had fallen short of OPEC daily quota, from 1.8 million barrels to 1.4 million barrels, due to crude theft. Sylva said the problem of crude theft could not be handled by federal government alone, as the thefts happens in the communities that host the oil pipelines. As a result, it has become necessary to involve the stakeholders, especially host communities.

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From my investigations, I saw that the oil theft is orchestrated by an organised syndicate allegedly backed by security personnel specifically assigned to man key export infrastructure and pipelines. A top industry operator who confided in me said some soldiers posted to a key export line in Port Harcourt openly threatened to kill their new commander who made an attempt to carry out changes of those assigned to guard the asset.

National President of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), Festus Osifo, said time has come for government to declare emergency in the sector. He told me that because crime has become a well coordinated theft with some security agents compromising their responsibilities, a shift towards investing in artificial intelligence would be a major consideration of government going forward.

The Chief Executive Officer, of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), Limited Mr Mele Kyari, sharing similar data, disclosed that the country loses an average of 200,000 barrels of crude per day to oil thieves, translating to 73million barrels in a year.

Also, Speaking at an oil and gas event in Lagos on Thursday, Commission Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Gbenga Komolafe, said the agency has developed a roadmap for tackling the security challenges in the industry.

Komolafe said NUPRC, has identified and is working towards implementing areas of collaboration between the government and operators and ensuring that operators realise their full production potential.

Under the plan the Commission is liaising with the top echelon of Nigerian Security Forces for a robust security framework that ensures Government Security Forces (GSF) provide pipeline and asset security.

In addition, massive public enlightenment campaign to educate citizens on the dangers associated with crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism, in collaboration with relevant agencies would be carried out.