NNPC seizes 63 illegal refineries in one-week crackdown

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited says it has cracked down on the operation of some oil thieves, seizing 63 illegal refineries within one week.

NNPC revealed in its weekly documentary “Energy and YOU” that its fight against oil theft yielded results of confiscating the 63 refineries.

According to the state-owned oil company, about 177 incidents were recorded between August 3 and 9 by different incident sources.

Four cases were recorded by Tantita Security Services; Shell Petroleum Development Company reported 11, Pipeline Infrastructure Nigeria Limited reported 26 while Maton Engineering Company reported 20.

The state-owned oil company, through NNPC 18 Operating Ltd, recorded one case, and the NNPC Command and Control Centre did 51 while government security agencies reported 64.

According to the NNPC, 19 illegal pipeline connections were recovered during the week under review, while some underwent repairs across several locations in Bayelsa and River States.

“63 illegal refineries were discovered and confiscated in Bayelsa, Rivers, Abia, Imo, and Delta States and a vandalised barricaded oil wellhead was discovered in Bayelsa State.”

Also, stolen crude was discovered in oil reservoirs in Rivers State, according to the state-owned firm, 17 vehicular arrests were made in communities in Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, and Akwa Ibom States.

In addition, the NNPC mentioned that 15 wooden boats conveying stolen crude were confiscated in Rivers and Bayelsa States, disclosing that 51 of those incidents took place in the deep blue water, 21 in the western region, 29 in the central region, and 76 in the eastern region.

According to the NNPC, no fewer than 16 suspects had been arrested in connection with the incidents in the past week.

Oil theft has been a major bane to the growth of the West African nation’s crude oil industry. For context, Nuhu Ribadu, National Security Adviser, stated in 2023 that the country lost 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) to theft.

Timipre Sylva, former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, said Nigeria lost at least 700,000 bpd to thieves in 2022. This is far higher than in other Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries plagued by oil theft like Venezuela, Iraq, Mexico, and Malaysia.

Earlier in the month, Tony Elumelu, chairman of Heirs Holdings, the parent company of Heirs Energies, remarked that the government and security agents in Nigeria should be able to tell Nigerians who steals the country’s crude oil, especially using vessels that move through the territorial waters.

According to him, the menace has contributed to the divestment of international oil companies in Nigeria.

He said, “42,000 barrels of crude are pumped out daily. Theft still takes away about 18 percent of production.

“This is oil theft; we are not talking about stealing a bottle of Coke that you can put in your pocket. The government should know; they should tell us.”