Nigeria is bleeding as shell Petroleum Development Company has continued to cry out that it is losing 10,000 barrels of crude oil every day. It means that the country is losing about 300,000 barrels of crude oil in a month.
This when translated to monetary value comes it comes to about N6.6billion($18.6million)
Apart from the monetary loss recorded from this crime it also has the environmental impact on both aquatic and human lives.
Just recently that Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation stated in its financial statement that it records 77 per cent Increase in Pipeline Vandalism in its network of pipeline infrastructure across the country in June 2019.
The corporation’s Monthly Financial and Operations Report (MFOR) for the month said 106 pipeline points were breached, representing an increase from the 60 points vandalized in May 2019.
It explained that the AbaEnugu axis in the system 2E pipeline corridor accounted for 25 per cent of the total pulverized points, while the Lagos Atlas Cove-mosimi axis of the system 2B had 23 per cent of the compromised pipeline points. While the Ibadan-ilorin leg of the System 2B pipeline accounted for 18 per cent of affected lines, followed by the PHCAba section of the system 2E which was responsible for 13 per cent of the affected pipeline, adding that other areas accounted for the remaining 21 per cent of cumulative line breaks.
Confronted by this enormous lose of resource, Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) has therefore cried out for help from government, communities and other stakeholders to stem the incessant attack on oil assets in the Niger Delta.
“These are critical national assets with 55 percent government interest and they produce the crude oil that accounts for over 90% of Nigeria’s foreign exchange and the bulk of government revenue. Hurting these assets means hurting the nation’s revenue, the economy of the states, the health of the people and the environment,” SPDC’S general manager external relations, Igo Weli, said.
“Crude oil theft on the pipeline network resulted in a loss of around 11,000 barrels of oil a day in 2018, which is more than the approximate 9,000 bbl/d in 2017, Weli said, adding that since 2012, SPDC had removed more than 1,160 illegal theft points on its joint venture pipelines in the Niger Delta.
SPDC said it was concerned about the lives and safety of those involved in pipeline vandalism and crude theft just as the company was concerned about the environment. “As a responsible organisation, we put safety first and have constantly made this appeal to those involved in crude theft in the Niger Delta to stop destroying their land and heritage from the spill and pollution arising from their activities.”
The crude oil theft and artisanal refining of stolen crude are criminal acts that are not only against the law but are also capable of mortgaging the future of the community.
Recently NNPC and the Nigerian Navy pledged to deepen collaboration to tackle the menace of crude oil theft and attacks on oil and gas facilities.
Mele Kyari NNPC boss and Vice Admiral, Ibok Ekwe, Chief of Naval Staff, came to the resolution when the NNPC officials paid a courtesy visit to the Naval Chief.
But the challenge here is how the Navy is going to help in tackling this menace remains to be seen. The popular opinion in the industry is that if the task force comprising the Army , Navy, and other security outfits has not been able to checkmate the rising profile of vandalism of crude oil and products pipelines all these while one wonders what it would do now.
Corruption is making those that should protect the pipelines look the other way while bunkering thrives. This situation may remain with us for a long time except the government has the political will to stamp out corruption.
