Bit by
bit, criminals are once again strangulating the oil industry
Following incessant attacks on its crude oil pipelines, the
Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC), a subsidiary of the Italian energy major,
ENI, recently suspended its operations in Bayelsa State. The company said “the
decision was taken due to an intensification of bunkering activities and
sabotage of the pipelines” which have in recent times seriously affected oil
production activities in the area. Incidentally, just a few weeks ago, Shell
Petroleum Development Company also raised an alarm over the criminal breach of
its multimillion dollar Nembe Creek trunk in the Bayelsa State.
Against the background that the Group Managing Director of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) said recently that the nation loses about $12 billion to crude oil theft annually, one can see very clearly that what we are dealing with is an international criminal cartel. Yet it is baffling that the relevant authorities seem clueless about how to contain these acts of sabotage that have serious economic and security implications for our country.
What’s more, with these criminal cartels getting more and more emboldened, they are investing in barges, canoes, speed boats and large wooden boats which they use in their illicit business. Today, there are reports that a quarter of Nigeria’s crude oil production is unaccounted for and this massive leakage has been going on for years. Local refineries are also springing up with all the dire implications for the environment given the pollution that come with the activities. Such is the impact of oil theft in our country today that it is being officially cited as one of the reasons for the inability of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to meet its projected crude oil output, which was said to have reached an all-time low in the current month of March.
Instructively, at the 13th edition of the annual Nigeria Oil and Gas Conference in February, Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, disclosed that the incidence has gone beyond surface discussions in view of its magnitude. “It is not a surface issue that can be addressed with superficial projects; it is actually a very complex issue that has gone on for many, many years but it does have to be addressed from many angles at the same time as we go along,” said the minister who added: “It has become necessary for stakeholders to come together and re-strategise on what to do so that we focus in a very robust and aggressive manner on this particular scourge that is directly affecting our economy in more ways than one”.
To underscore the gravity of the situation, the Senate last week lent its weight behind those seeking capital punishment for oil thieves if that would help redress the problem. Inaugurating the Senate Joint Committee on Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), Senate President David Mark said that there was no bigger punishment that could be meted out to oil thieves in Nigeria than capital punishment. While charging the committee to recommend ways of curbing oil bunkering, Mark insisted that “the law must have a huge punishment on those that steal our oil to serve as a deterrent to other people who plan to steal our oil. The Bill must also ensure that the current rate of oil theft in the country is minimised to the barest minimum. It seems we are having a bad name internationally because of the rate of oil theft in the country. Oil theft deserves capital punishment”.
There is no doubt that the incidents of theft of crude oil now pose a deleterious threat to the nation’s economy. But even as we lament this deplorable situation, it is evident that the problem persists because there is some form of official complicity in what has become an organised crime. It is therefore time that the authorities took serious measures against these criminals.
Against the background that the Group Managing Director of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) said recently that the nation loses about $12 billion to crude oil theft annually, one can see very clearly that what we are dealing with is an international criminal cartel. Yet it is baffling that the relevant authorities seem clueless about how to contain these acts of sabotage that have serious economic and security implications for our country.
What’s more, with these criminal cartels getting more and more emboldened, they are investing in barges, canoes, speed boats and large wooden boats which they use in their illicit business. Today, there are reports that a quarter of Nigeria’s crude oil production is unaccounted for and this massive leakage has been going on for years. Local refineries are also springing up with all the dire implications for the environment given the pollution that come with the activities. Such is the impact of oil theft in our country today that it is being officially cited as one of the reasons for the inability of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to meet its projected crude oil output, which was said to have reached an all-time low in the current month of March.
Instructively, at the 13th edition of the annual Nigeria Oil and Gas Conference in February, Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, disclosed that the incidence has gone beyond surface discussions in view of its magnitude. “It is not a surface issue that can be addressed with superficial projects; it is actually a very complex issue that has gone on for many, many years but it does have to be addressed from many angles at the same time as we go along,” said the minister who added: “It has become necessary for stakeholders to come together and re-strategise on what to do so that we focus in a very robust and aggressive manner on this particular scourge that is directly affecting our economy in more ways than one”.
To underscore the gravity of the situation, the Senate last week lent its weight behind those seeking capital punishment for oil thieves if that would help redress the problem. Inaugurating the Senate Joint Committee on Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), Senate President David Mark said that there was no bigger punishment that could be meted out to oil thieves in Nigeria than capital punishment. While charging the committee to recommend ways of curbing oil bunkering, Mark insisted that “the law must have a huge punishment on those that steal our oil to serve as a deterrent to other people who plan to steal our oil. The Bill must also ensure that the current rate of oil theft in the country is minimised to the barest minimum. It seems we are having a bad name internationally because of the rate of oil theft in the country. Oil theft deserves capital punishment”.
There is no doubt that the incidents of theft of crude oil now pose a deleterious threat to the nation’s economy. But even as we lament this deplorable situation, it is evident that the problem persists because there is some form of official complicity in what has become an organised crime. It is therefore time that the authorities took serious measures against these criminals.
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