Shell Loses 206,000bpd to Oil Theft, Sabotage

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By Ejiofor Alike

Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) has stated that it lost an average of 206,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (bopd) in 2013 due to crude oil theft and shutdowns related to theft and other third –party interference.

In a statistics released by the company, the number of spills from SPDC operations caused by sabotage and theft also increased to 157 in 2013, compared to 137 in 2012.

The company noted that much greater volumes of crude oil were discharged into the environment away from its facilities, through illegal refining and transportation of stolen crude.

According to the statistics, production losses due to crude oil theft, sabotage and related temporary shutdowns increased in 2013 by about 75 per cent.

On the average, Shell said around 32,000bopd were stolen from its pipelines and other facilities, while it also lost production of about 174,000bopd due to shutdowns related to theft and other third-party interference.

“This equates to several billion dollars in revenue losses for the Nigerian government and the joint venture,” the company said.

Shell said operational spills caused by corrosion, equipment failure or human error accounted for about 15 per cent of the total volume of crude oil spilled from its facilities in 2013.

The company further stated that the number of operational spills over 100 kilogrammes was 30 in 2013, down from 36 in 2012 and 63 in 2011.
However, the company noted that the volume of oil spilled due to operational causes increased to 400 tonnes with around 300 tonnes of this volume from a single spill.

To prevent crude oil spills, Shell said its key priority was to achieve its goal of no operational spills.

“In 2013, we continued work to maintain and replace pipelines and other infrastructure, with 250 kilometres of pipelines and flowlines replaced, following 312 kilometres completed in 2012 and 208 kilometres in 2011. All of SPDC’s major facilities have been certified in line with world-class management systems, with safety and integrity verified through regular assessment and audits,” said the company.

The company also disclosed that its entire area of operations was covered by pipeline and asset surveillance contracts to ensure that spills are discovered and responded to as quickly as possible.

According to the company, these surveillance activities primarily employ the members of the communities the pipeline transverse.

The company also stated that daily over-flights are also carried out to detect new theft points on the pipelines.

“SPDC is continually looking for new ways to make it more difficult for thieves, for example by burying new pipelines deeper or covering them with concrete, securing well heads to make them more tamper proof, making repairs and removing illegal taps.

Despite these efforts, the menace of theft and sabotage persists, with long-term social, economic and environmental implications. Only a concerted response by all stakeholders, including  government, communities and civil-society can end it,” the company explained.