Niger Delta Governors, Chief Of Defence Staff, NNPC GMD, Strategize Over Security Of Oil & Gas Assets, Others

As part of measures aimed at boosting the level of security for the nation’s oil assets, the Chief of Defense Staff, General Lucky Irabor has held a meeting in Abuja with Governors of the oil-rich Niger Delta states.

Irabor led heads of other security agencies such as the Inspector-General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba and the Commandant-General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Dr. Ahmed Abubakar Audi to the meeting.

The Governors of Delta, Akwa Ibom and Bayelsa State were present at the meeting while the Deputy Governors of Edo, Imo and Ondo represented their states.

The meeting, which was also attended by the Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mele Kyari, was convened to discuss threats to the country’s oil and gas sector.

Irabor told the governors that the meeting was based on the directive of President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure that the threats to the security of oil and gas assets were addressed.

According to him, the security situation in the oil rich region demand quick action as they currently affect the country’s production capacity.

Figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Thursday showed that in the fourth quarter of 2021, the country recorded an average daily oil production of 1.50 million barrels per day.

This showed a lower volume compared to 1.56mbpd recorded in the fourth quarter of 2020 by 0.06mbpd. Fourth quarter 2021 daily oil production also showed lower volume compared to the third quarter 2021 production volume of 1.57mbpd.

This trend accounts for oil growth rate of -8.06 per cent in real terms recorded in the fourth quarter of 2021 and annual growth rate of -8.30 per cent in 2021.

Additionally, during the fourth quarter of 2021, oil contributed 5.19 per cent to Gross Domestic Product representing a decline from the 5.87 per cent contributed in fourth quarter 2020.

On an annual basis, oil contributed 7.24 per cent which is lower to the 8.16 per cent recorded in 2020.

The Governor of Delta State, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, in his speech at the meeting noted that security issues has continued to trouble the minds of the oil producing governors.

He noted that there has been a sharp drop in oil production, which has also affected state revenues.

He expressed confidence that the meeting will help the states to collaborate with security agencies and check excesses, which include illegal oil bunkering.

In its audit report made public in July 2021, the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative had indicated that in 2019, Nigeria lost 42.25 million barrels of crude oil to oil theft, valued at $2.77bn.

It said the country could have earned more revenue if not for crude oil losses due to metering error, theft and sabotage in the year under review.

According to the report, the losses were incurred by companies that conveyed crude volumes through pipelines that were easily compromised by saboteurs.

The report, therefore, recommended that the government should ensure proper surveillance (land-based, and aerial satellite photography and geophones trenched pipelines).