Kyari Meets Police IG, Calls For Better Synergy Against Crude Oil Thieves
The Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd, Mele Kyari, has paid a courtesy visit to the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, to call for better synergy towards combating crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism in the Niger Delta.
He was accompanied on the visit by the NNPC Limited’s Executive Vice President, Upstream, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan; the Chief Upstream Investment officer, NNPC Upstream Investment Management Services Bala Wunti; the NNPC Limited Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Mr Femi Soneye, and other top officials.
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The visit is coming barely a week after Kyari revealed that from 2021 till date, the Command and Control Centre of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited had assisted in the detection and destruction of over 5,686 Illegal Refinery sites, and successfully removed 4,480 Illegal Connections in the country.
The Centre has also assisted in reporting over 1,615 vandalisms across the three operating corridors of the NNPC as well as facilitated the recovery of 1.9 million barrels of stolen crude oil, 170 million liters of diesel, and 650,000 liters of Premium Motor Spirit also known as petrol from crude oil thieves
He said vandalism and oil theft is causing the Nigerian petroleum industry millions of dollars every year, with associated damage to the environment and sustainable business operations.
Given these chaotic realities, Kyari said that the NNPC has continued to discharge its mandate to guarantee national energy security and deliver value despite the unique and unending challenges of its operating environment.
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As part of NNPC’s efforts to mitigate oil vandalism and oil theft, he said the National Oil Company is leveraging modern technology with robust command and control centre to track and identify illegal activities and suspicious movement of vessels used for crude oil theft across the western, eastern, and central operating corridors.
The command-and-control centre, he added, has been equipped with the necessary technology to achieve the live streaming of surveillance pictures, videos, and data to security forces for deterrent action.
