NNPC, Security Agencies Uncover Another Illegal Pipeline Used In Stealing Crude Oil
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd working in partnership with government and private security agencies have uncovered an illegal oil pipeline used by criminals to steal crude oil from Forcados Terminal in Delta State.
The discovery of the illegal pipeline was made about a week ago by operatives of Tantiter Security Services working in collaboration with security agencies.
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The illegal pipeline is located in
Okuntu Community which is few metres away from the Forcados crude oil export terminal
The illegal 6 inch pipeline was connected to the 48 inch Trans Forcados Export Pipeline connecting the high sea where crude oil is being loaded into vessels.
It was connected with the primary intention to steal crude oil from the main pipeline operated by Shell Petroleum Development Company and Agip.
The distance from where the illegal pipeline was connected and where it was being used to load stolen crude oil into the ship is between five to six kilometers.
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Forcados Terminal which was built in 1971 is located about 65 kilometers West of Warri Town and has about ten crude storage tanks
For quite some time, the theft of crude oil has been having a negative impact on the revenue of the federal government, thus denying the country the much-needed fund to boost economic development.
In the first quarter of this year, Nigeria lost $1bn in revenue to crude oil theft and production shut-in caused by pipeline vandalism.
With a daily loss of over 700,000 barrels of crude oil to theft, pipeline vandalism and production shut-ins, caused by tapping of crude oil from a maze of pipelines owned by oil majors, experts have said that it has become compelling for the government to adopt a holistic approach to addressing the crude oil revenue loss challenge.
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At an average price of $100 per barrel crude oil price, it means that Nigeria is currently losing about $70m monthly to crude oil thieves and production shut-ins.
Nigeria relies on crude oil revenue for over 90 per cent of its foreign exchange earnings and about 70 per cent of government revenue.
The high level of oil losses caused by crude theft had led to a drop in daily oil production from 1.8 million barrels per day in the last three years to just a little over one million bpd.
When vandals carry out their illegal attacks, such activities lead to
low crude oil production and export, losses in crude oil, gas, and petroleum products, interruption in
gas supply to power plants, drop in country wide distribution of petroleum products, and increase in
refinery downtimes.
Furthermore, such attacks on oil installation create instability in the oil and gas market, increase pipeline maintenance and surveillance costs, raises power cuts / blackouts, and jerks up cost of petroleum products.
Crude oil theft and production shut-in also reduce refinery capacity, increase petroleum products importation, provide resources to criminals to fuel conflicts and insurgence and also lead to environmental pollution and loss of lives and human resources.
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Speaking during a tour of the facility where the illegal pipeline was connected, the Marine Intelligence Consultant to Tantita Security Services, Mr. Warredi Enisuoh, said the discovery was made because of the immense support from the NNPC.
He commended the leadership of the NNPC and the Federal Government for having the political will to bring the issue of crude oil theft to an end.
He said, “This job is looking easy to us because we never give up on our country. We know we have challenges, we have been monitoring all these challenges for quiet a while and we have been waiting for the day our country will need us to come onboard and that eventually, the positive involvement of the NNPC and also the government and our gallant forces to give us the protection we needed to protect this particular facility will yield result.”
When asked how the discovery was made, he described the connection of the illegal pipeline as an “organized crime.”
He said through credible intelligence, security operatives were able to track the illegal pipeline buried under the water which was used in syphoning crude oil.
As soon as the illegal connection points were established, Enisuoh told THE WHISTLER that the team immediately commenced the evacuation of the river where the pipeline was buried.
He said evacuation of the water lasted for days before the pipeline was dug out from the ground.
He explained further, “Now what has happened actually was that the perpetrators of this organized crimes had tapped into the shell 48 inch export line, remember it’s an export line, so the crude has been cleaned up, ready to go and it’s quiet expensive.
“So, they tapped into it, the place was initially filled with water but technology made it able for them to connect their own pipe inside water.
“We troughted the line with bare feet to the point where it was tapped. We had to create two dams to the point where it was tapped and so that the water contained in the dam can be pumped out.
“For days we pumped the water out and the illegality was exposed. So, now what has happened is that you see this riser behind me, that riser is operated by another joint venture company called Agip. They are the ones who are operating this and they have not been using it.
“So, what these illegal fellows tried to do was that this oil field actually belongs to Agip and the pipe leads to the Benevoye fuel station. So, instead of piping through to the filling station, the smartest boys in the room, decided to export crude through that particular jacket that you are seeing out there.
He added, “Its a very bold one, they piped through that jacket by cutting the Agip one and connecting theirs and then at night, the usual thing happens which is to bring ships, close to that particular platform, they connect their pipes, collect the crude and off they go from there.
“As I continue to say, they are always smart, but they are not smarter than NNPC, they are not smarter than Nigeria and they are not smarter than Tantiter security agencies. That is what brought is here today.”
When asked how long the illegal tapping of crude oil has been going on through that facility, he said based on credible intelligence, the theft has been going on for about year.
“It has definitely been here for a while. Obviously with the intelligence we have been getting about ships coming to that area, which led to the findings, it has been going on for a while, more than a year to be precise,” he added.
The Group Chief Executive Officer of the NNPC Ltd, Mele Kyari who also spoke during the tour of the facility said the era of crude oil theft is over.
Kyari was represented by the
General Manager, Joint Venture Operations National Petroleum Investments Management Services,
Mr. Zakariya Buduwara.
He said, “Firstly, NNPC has always been on its toes bringing stability in host communities and with the help of the communities, we work very hard to secure the oil and gas pipelines and all other oil and gas assets because of the direct impact these have on the revenue.
“Some activities equally have adverse effect on the people and environment. Today is just another day, but we feel giving access for media coverage will show our continued efforts to assure Nigerians of NNPC Ltd and stakeholders’ commitment to curb and bring an end to the crude theft menace.”
He explained further that the discovery of the illegal connection is a demonstration of an excellent collaborative efforts by NNPC Ltd and its stakeholders.
“NNPC thanks all its stakeholders (Military and all Government Security agencies, Community, Community/Private Security Contractor, Operator of the asset) who are continuously supporting this venture, especially the communities and the community contractors, the contractor on the western corridor Tantita, the reason of whom, we are here today. Together we can make the difference that we desire,” he added.
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