All Posts in "Oil Theft"

everage On Expertise Of Indigenous Firms To Stop Oil Theft, Expert Advises F

An energy expert, Victor Ekpenyong, has advocated the need  for the Federal Government and oil companies to leverage the expertise of Nigerian firms to check oil theft and increase oil production.
He said it was  for the government to raise oil production beyond current levels to take advantage of increased oil prices at the international market.
Ekpenyong,Chief Executive Officer of Kenyon International West Africa Limited, said that although the nation was capable of producing up to 2.5 million barrels of crude per day, the activities of oil thieves and vandals who always attack oil installations have forced operators to shutdown vandalised assets.
According to him, indigenous oil services firm had developed a homegrown solution to oil theft and vandalism, adding that the solution which the company refers to as Idle Well Management Solution, which is currently being deployed in some oilfields and has proved cost-effective and efficient.
He said the solution includes installation of anti-theft devices on wellheads that makes it impossible to steal crude or vandalise wellheads.
He  expressed optimism that if the solution was adopted across the oilfields, oil production would take an upward swing and enable Nigeria benefit from the rising oil prices.
He said his company’s  package to secure oil installations relies on idle well management practice which helps to monitor idle wells, preventing them from vandalism and theft.
He added: “Nigeria has the capacity to produce nearly 2.5 million barrels of oil per day, but now, it struggles to produce one million plus barrels a day.  Some of the factors that caused the plunge in production are vandalism and oil theft. This has inevitably led to some Nigerian companies shutting down their operations.
“To salvage the situation, government needs to conduct a situational analysis. From the information we have seen so far, the country previously produced more oil and we should enquire why our oil-producing capacity is plunging as the days go by. Now that oil is above $100 per barrel, we should take advantage of it and maximise our revenue. Our government needs to devise plans on how to safeguard oil and gas assets and conduct community engagement.
“Currently, we have a lot of tech-savvy youth in the country and in community engagement, citizens can proffer some tech-solutions to these problems we face. Young people can develop applications that can track vandals. This can be potentially beneficial to both oil companies and the citizens as well.”
He also advocated that industry regulatory agencies should ensure that oil companies are following the industry-recommended procedures and international best practices.
admin by — April 4, 2022 in Oil&Gas 0
Oil Theft, Vandalism May Collapse  Nigeria’s Economy – PENGASSAN

Unless urgent steps were taken to stop oil theft and vandalism,  the national economy which depends largely on petrol-dollars, risked impending collapse,the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN),has said.
Nigeria loses 90 to 99 percent of crude pumped into its Trans-National Pipeline (TNP) to vandalism and theft in the Niger Delta region,Festus Osifoo,president of the oil union told reporters in Lagos
The issues of crude oil theft have in recent times been exacerbated, making Nigeria to lose out from the gains of the current oil rally in the international market,he quoted a paper titled ,’state of the nation’
According to him,Nigeria  produces an average of 1.2 to 1.3million barrels of crude oil daily from a capacity of about 2 million barrels of crude oil per day.
He said between October 2021 and February 2022, between 90 and 99 percent of crude oil pumped into the Trans National Pipeline (TNP) by operators  was vandalised.
He said reconciliation/fiscalisation at Bonny terminal shows that between 5 and 10 percent of crude oil metered from the operators gets to the terminals.
He explained:“Another problem arising from vandalism is that companies are forced to go into curtailment when these assets/export pipelines are damaged as they cannot export what they produce, thereby incurring production losses”
He  disclosed that an operator loses an average of 10 days of production shut-in every month due to vandalism, adding that recent preliminary work showed that about 150 illegal tappings were used in siphoning crude oil from the TNP.
He said beyond  reduction in revenue to the operating companies and the national economy, this act of sabotage has caused serious environmental degradation to the host communities and region.
He added:“As a matter of urgent national importance, we hereby call on the Federal Government to work with stakeholders in the oil and gas industry as well as the national security architecture to find a lasting solution to this menace that is almost bringing the oil and gas industry to its knees.
“It is our expectation that the integrity of the pipelines will be sound enough to enable safe transportation of crude and products all over the country, while the government establishes a special force committed to strict enforcement of pipeline right of way”.
admin by — March 30, 2022 in Oil&Gas 0