The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has disclosed that it detected and destroyed over 8,000 illegal refineries and 5,800 illegal oil pipeline connections within six months.
The Deputy Manager of NNPCL Command and Control Centre, Murtala Muhammad, stated this at a stakeholder engagement in Abuja over the weekend.
Muhammad noted that oil theft remained a serious concern, saying these incidents were primarily in Bayelsa, Rivers, Imo, and Abia, among other hotbeds.
He said, “Over 8,000 illegal refineries and 5,800 illegal oil pipeline connections were detected and destroyed within the last six months.”
Also speaking, NNPCL’s Chief Corporate Communications Officer (CCO), Olufemi Soneye, said the company could increase crude oil production from 1.7 million barrels per day to 3 million.
However, Soneye said achieving this goal requires support from all stakeholders, including security agencies, the government, privately owned oil companies, and host communities.
President Bola Tinubu’s directives to relevant security agencies have yielded positive results, with daily oil production rising from 1.4 million to 1.7 million barrels.
Soneye noted that synergy among stakeholders was crucial in combating oil theft and pipeline vandalism, creating an environment for optimal oil production of 2.5 to 3 million barrels daily.
He said previously oil production had plummeted to 900,000 barrels per day before private security agencies and military intervention, adding that the intensified efforts against oil theft have alleviated concerns.
In his presentation, Prof. Taiye Obateru, a resource person and scholar at the University of Jos, stressed the importance of balanced and fair reporting in nation-building.
While urging journalists to avoid spreading misinformation that could spark societal crises, he said: “As journalists, you must shun misinformation, which manifests through fabricated contents, false contents, satire, and parody,” Obateru said.
