Nigerian Oil theft - Naval chief threatens conniving officers with sanctions

Nigerian Oil theft

By Kingsley Omonobi

ABUJA — The Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Usman Jubrin, has threatened to visit the full wrath of the law as contained in the revised armed forces statutes on any officer of the Navy caught conniving with multi-national oil companies to defraud the nation through oil theft.

Disclosing that oil companies were neck-deep in the oil scam taking place in the Niger Delta, the CNS said some oil companies deliberately left their oil well heads open, which should be sealed, uncovered for years for ulterior motives, saying this was where the crude oil was being siphoned.

Jubrin, who spoke when he summoned executives of oil companies to a meeting in Abuja said:  “I can say without fear of contradictions that some oil companies are deeply involved in these unwholesome acts and this we must address with all seriousness.

“It has become worrisome, that we have not been able to check this menace, and that is why it has taken me seven months to summon this meeting which I said must be attended by the chief executive officers of the oil companies themselves though what I am seeing now are their representatives which I am not happy about.

“I have decided to stop pointing fingers, but now to mention the names of the companies involved in this oil theft because if the oil wells are properly sealed with the required manifold, it is only an expert that can open it and this crime is denting the image of the country.”

He warned that the Navy  would soon start arresting and shutting down oil companies whose oil wells were still left open, not sealed with manifold.

“To prevent these measures, the Navy and the oil companies will work out the details on how to tackle the menace together and find a lasting solution,” the CNS added.

Responding on behalf of the oil companies, the representative of Exxon Mobil, Olabani Olubiyi, said the Navy had performed creditably  in checking the menace of oil theft and would continue to advocate for more platforms for them.

Recall that only on Tuesday, Vice Admiral Jubrin announced that the crude oil theft in the Niger Delta had reduced from 2.6 million barrels to about 900,000 barrels.

Speaking when the GMD of NNPC, Dr. Joseph Dawha, visited him, he said:   “In January for instance, we had about 2.6 million barrels of crude oil theft but in June, based on the record we have here, it has dropped to about  900,000 barrels.”

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