N230.2bn Lost To Oil Theft In 2019 – NNPC

The Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mallam Mele Kyari, has disclosed that the country lost about N230.2 billion to oil theft in 2019.

The GMD disclosed this on Tuesday in a presentation to members of the Executive Intelligence Management Course 13 of the National Institute for Security Studies (NISS) at the NNPC Towers in Abuja.     

Kyari during his lecture on, “Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea; Issues, Challenges for International Trade, National Security and Sustainable Development of Member States”, said any attack on the corporation would threaten the country’s economy and survival, adding that the NNPC was key to the nation’s economy.

The GMD said vandalism of oil and gas infrastructure and the kidnapping of its staff was a huge challenge to the corporation’s performance.

Kyari decried the piracy and oil theft in the Gulf of Guinea, adding that insecurity challenges in the sector were linked.

He called on all stakeholders to make efforts to safeguard the country’s oil sector, adding that the sector was integral to the country’s existence.

The GMD was optimistic that fossil fuel would still be relevant in the next 20 years.

“Even by 2050, fossil fuel would account for 80 per cent of the energy mix, and there would still be consumption of at least, 100 million barrels of oil per day. We are determined to remain relevant in the long term,” he said.

Similarly, the Executive Director, National Institute of security Studies, Ayodele Adeleke, called on the 18 security agencies present at the meeting to foster cooperation among themselves so as to tackle the security issues facing the Nigerian Petroleum Industry.