The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), is advocating the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to combat insecurity, vandalism, and to recoup about $3.57billion loss in the oil and gas sector of the nation’s economy.
This, the president, PENGASSAN, Comrade Festus Osifo said, would ensure Nigeria is able to recoup most of its several billions of dollars being lost to vandalism and insecurity in the oil and gas industry. He equally called on the federal government to increase its share holding in Dangote to 45 per cent as a means to have a voice in the refinery.
Lamenting against the threat to economic survival of the only revenue-yielding avenue, he noted that, over 133 million people out of the country’s population are living in multidimensional poverty based on losses in the only source of exports, oil.
Based on over $3.57 billion lost due to oil theft, vandalism and inability to monitor how many trucks load of petroleum products are being produced and leaving loading depots on daily basis, Osifo, not only intensified his call for inclusion of AI for proper tracking of all activities in oil and gas industry, but charged heads of security to involve use of AI for tackling of insecurity across the country.
Addressing Labour Writers Association and Energy Correspondents in PENGASSAN head office in Lagos, Osifo explained that, as oil and gas remain the only revenue-yielding avenue for the country, the losses suffered within the first quarter of 2024 showed that drastic steps should be taken to prevent more losses.
Although Nigeria is the 10th largest oil producer in the world and 3rd in Africa, with an oil reserve of over 37.1 billion barrels and an estimated 206.5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserve, he said, oil theft, vandalism and accountability has continued to make the country to be making roundabouts progress.
“But even those security architectures have not markedly borne results. Admittedly, there has been some improvement, but it’s been painfully slow, with its attendant cost to the nation’s economy,” he noted.
Recall that between January and July 2024, Nigeria lost an average of 437,000 barrels of crude oil daily, worth about $10bn due to theft, vandalism, and other criminal activities.
