There Will Be Zero Tolerance For Crude Oil Theft, Says FG

…As Sylva, Irabor, Kyari, Visits Troops Guarding Oil & Gas Assets

The Federal Government has said that it will not tolerate the menace of crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism in the country.

This is just as President Muhammadu Buhari has mandated a high-powered delegation comprising the Minister of State Petroleum Resources, Chief of Defense Staff, Chief of Naval Staff, NNPC Group CEO, NUPRC Chief Executive and NMDPRA Chief Executive to embark on a thank you visit to troops on the operational frontline of the Collaboration on security of Oil & Gas Assets

The visit which took the delegation to the Naval base Warri, Nigeria Navy Pathfinder in Port Harcourt and the 3rd Battalion Nigerian Army Effurun was primarily aimed at commending the efforts of the troops in the past few months.

It will also help to restate the need for closer collaboration in the coming months to ensure zero tolerance for Crude Oil theft in Nigeria.

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva commended the gallant troops on the job well done so far.

He stated that improvements are being recorded but there is still needed to deploy more efforts to get to 100 per cent accomplishment.

The Minister further announced that from 2023, there will be no tolerance for crude oil theft in Nigeria

In his remarks the Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor acknowledged the support being provided under the industry security framework.

He expressed his happiness on the considerable progress recorded.

The Defence Chief further commended the troops for the gallant efforts as well as the private security contractors for not only playing a significant role in intelligence gathering but also in the physical surveillance abd arrest of criminals.

The NNPC Group Chief Executive Officer, Malam Mele Kyari highlighted that the collaboration has so far resulted in a wave of discoveries of illegal connections, dismantling illegal refineries, and disrupting the supply chain of stolen crude oil and illegally refined products.

Kyari further stated that a significant outcome of these sustained effort which is gaining acknowledgement from international and domestic players, has been the re-opening of production and evacuation facilities that were hitherto forced out of operation.

In their separate remarks, the Chief Executives of NUPRC and NMDPRA, Mr Gbenga Komolafe and Mr Farouk Ahmed commended the collaborative effort and the progress being recorded.

They stated that the objectives of the industry-wide security collaboration are being met and investors’ confidence in the Nigerian oil and gas industry is gradually being restored

As part of the visit, the delegation also visited NNS Pathfinder where officials arrested some culprits, vessels and wooden canoes used in perpetrating illegal activities.

The NNPC Executive Vice President Upstream, Mr Adokiye Tombomieye and the Chief Upstream Investment Officer, Mr Bala Wunti were also part of the delegation.

THE WHISTLER had reported that crude oil production in Nigeria has increased to 1.59 million barrels per day as of the first week of December.

In August, crude oil theft forced Nigeria’s production down to 1.1 million barrels per day far below the OPEC quota for the country.

By implication, crude oil theft cut the contribution of foreign exchange earnings from crude oil export from 90 per cent when production was high to 78.5 per cent as of the third quarter of 2022.

ENDS