Onwuka Nzeshi
The Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) has for the umpteenth time, brought to the front burner the worsening state of crude oil theft in Nigeria.
It said that Nigeria had been losing about $5 billion annually to the activities of illegal oil bunkerers operating in the oil fields located in the coastal parts of the country.
An estimated 150,000 barrels of crude oil valued at $13.5 million is stolen daily by the oil thieves believed to have links with some individuals in the country and an international oil cartel backed by some foreign countries.
Managing Director of SPDC and Chairman of the Shell Group in Nigeria, Mr. Mutiu Sumonu, disclosed this yesterday at the opening of a three-day public hearing on the frightening rise of illegal oil bunkering activities in the Niger Dela region.
The public hearing was organised by the Joint Committees on Petroleum Resources (Upstream) and Navy in the House of Representatives.
Sumonu said though the incident of crude oil theft was not new in Nigeria, the situation had degenerated from the occasional and haphazard operations of some local thieves to a well-coordinated syndicate of criminals who are prepared to do anything to obtain the ill-gotten crude oil.
He said as at 2003, crude oil theft stood at some 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) but was brought under control by the SPDC in collaboration with the government.
He expressed concern that the present situation had gone out of control and beyond the capacity of any oil firm to combat.
“The scale of crude oil theft now is more than what the oil companies can handle. It is extremely pervasive now. If you over-fly the whole of our operational areas in the Niger Delta, you will see canoes, barges and illegal refineries all over the place.
“The country is losing about 150,000 barrels of crude oil per day, the equivalent of $5 billion per annum. Imagine what that amount of money could do to our economy if we chose to put it into the power sector,” he said.
According to Sumonu, the matter goes beyond the economics of financial losses to security as some of these illegal oil bunkering operations appear to have the support of some foreign countries.
He said apart from the security implications of some foreign nationals undermining the territorial integrity of Nigeria, oil theft also contributes to environmental degradation of the region.
He said Nigeria could reduce crude oil theft significantly by enforcing law and order and mounting a strong maritime security patrol to cut off the export market for stolen crude oil.
Commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Dr. Ade Abolurin, who also made a presentation at the public hearing, described illegal oil bunkering as a criminal offence and an act of economic sabotage.
Abolurin said the NSCDC had been working hard to tackle crude oil theft but had been confronted by lack of cooperation from some security agencies and members of the public.
He argued that combating crude oil theft would not be difficult if there were no insider deals and compromise by government officials and security agencies in the monitoring of the sale of crude oil.
Chairman, House Committee on Petroleum Resources (Upstream), Hon. Ajibola Muraina, said illegal oil bunkering must be brought to an end in the interest of economic growth and security of Nigeria.
Muraina, who expressed displeasure at the absence of the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice-Admiral Ola Sa'ad Ibrahim, at the hearing, said it was appalling that crude theft had been taking place under the watch of the Nigerian Navy.
He took exception to the arrest of two foreign vessels with stolen crude oil and the subsequent escape of one of the vessels. Muraina urged the naval chief to appear before the committee to brief lawmakers in respect of the incidents.
Hmmm, this is rather serious! Can we ever get outta all these quagmires in Nigeria, I doubt this much except with a REVOLUTION....#Enofsaid
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