The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari has supported recent senate’s recommendation on the need to enforce capital punishment for oil theft offenders in the country.
He spoke on Tuesday when he appeared before the Senate’s joint committees on Petroleum (Downstream), Petroleum (Upstream) and Gas,where he also said oil theft has assumed unprecedented dimension in recent time
According to him, the country is on the brink of an economic disaster following indiscriminate oil theft, pipeline vandalism in the Niger Delta areas, with attendant low oil production .
He recalled that oil theft crimes in the country have been on for 22 years ago but the dimension and it has assumed unprecedented rate in recent time.
“As earlier stated as a result of the oil theft, Nigeria losses about 600, 000 barrels per day which is not healthy for the Nation’s economy and in particular , the legal operators in the field which had led to the closure of some of their operational facilities.
“But in rising up to the highly disturbing challenge, NNPCL, has in recent time in collaboration with relevant security agencies, clamped down on the economic saboteurs.
In the course of the clamp down within the last six weeks , 395 illegal refineries have been deactivated, 274 reservoirs destroyed, 1,561 metal tanks destroyed, 49 trucks seized and the most striking of all, is the 4kilometeres illegal oil connection line from Forcados Terminal into the sea which had been in operation undetected for 9 solid years “, he said .
He told the committee that as part of efforts to address the situation, the NNPCL carried out aerial surveillance of the affected areas, and saw the economic saboteurs carrying out their activities unchallenged and unperturbed.
“The problem at hand is not only security but social as locals in most areas where the illegal refiners operate , unknowingly serve as their employees by mistaking them for operatives of licensed companies for oil exploration and production in the area”, he added.
He said,the Cambodian and Mexican models of involvement of non-state actors are being adopted by NNPCL with involvement of three private security companies.
He said it’s not abnormal to involve non – State actors for protection of oil pipelines and other critical infrastructure as done in Cambodia and Mexico which produced desired result.
Speaking,the Chairman of the joint committee, Senator Mohammed Sabo Nakudu (APC Jigawa South West), told the NNPCL Boss to get prepared for oversight functions on Port Harcourt and Warri refineries claimed to have been rehabilitated.
