Tag: Oil theft

Association of Nigeria Refinery, Petroleum Marketers (ANRPM) has called for collaboration from National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, on eliminating oil theft.

Listing youth restiveness, irregularities, exploitation, hoarding, sharp practice, artificial scarcity, adulterated product and illegal bunkering as some challenges, it urged Administrator of Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Dennis Otuaro, for support.

National Coordinator of Operation/Administration, Dr. Edison Nwadiaro, spoke with reporters in Abuja, saying 6,438 illegal refineries had been discovered in Niger Delta.

Edison noted “Nigeria will find it difficult to meet its production target because of oil theft on its pipeline.

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“The extent of damage are up to 4,880 illegal connection points along 5,000 Km of pipeline. More of such connections points have not been recovered with 6,438 illegal refineries in Niger Delta despite security agencies in the region.

“It’s obvious, despite the integrity issues with our pipeline and facilities we have Capacity to eradicate crude theft. In 2023 ,Nigeria lost N2.3 trillion in oil theft higher than projected revenue from crude oil and gas sales in 2024, about one trillion naira, Nigeria spent N34.47 billion between 2024 and first half of 2022 to fix pipelines.

“We urge the NSA and Amnesty to work with ANRPM to support this administration in eliminating oil theft, youth restiveness, irregularities, exploitation, hoarding, and other challenges in the sector’’, he said.

The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), operatives continued to comb the Niger Delta region using the Commandant General’s Special Intelligence Squad to effect the arrest of three suspects for vandalism of oil pipeline and oil theft.

The suspects also engaged in illegal dealings in petroleum products at Umuodo, Umuajuloke Community in Omuma local government area of Rivers state, according to information obtained from the NSCDC headquarters in Abuja on Monday, July 15.

The public relations officer of the corps, Babawale Afolabi, said in a statement that the Squad deployed its intelligence assets to access the terrain and effect the arrest of the suspects.

He quoted the Commander of the Squad, DC Apollo Dandaura as saying that the arrest was made possible through sustained Intelligence that an illegal oil refinery was in the area.

It was also discovered that large quantities of illegally refined petroleum products suspected to be Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) were hidden in the area.

“Based on credible Intelligence we swung into action and arrested 3 suspects at the crime scene with large quantities of illegally refined AGO already stored inside metallic drums while others were inside cellophane bags”, he said.

Afolabi gave the names of the arrested suspects as Happiness Nwankwo (F) 45years, an indigene of Omuma in Rivers State, Nnoma Nwankwo (F) 30 years also from Rivers State, and Favour Amadi (F) from Omuma in same Rivers State.

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Some exhibits recovered at the point of arrest are numerous drum ovens containing stolen and siphoned crude oil undergoing processing, Industrial hoses used to tap into well-heads to siphon crude oil, large quantities of stolen crude oil stored inside cellophane bags and kegs, many metal and plastic buckets, Wheelbarrows, Shovels, and Galvanized metal pipes, he further said.

He said the suspects would be arraigned in Court after the conclusion of investigations.

The Independent Petroleum Marketers (IPMAN) and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) have resolved to work together to fight pipeline vandalism, oil theft, smuggling and adulteration of petroleum products in the country.

This was part of resolutions reached at a meeting of the leadership of IPMAN with the Commandant General of the NSCDC, Ahmed Abubakar Audi at the headquarters of the Corps in Abuja.

Audi announced that over 450 illegal bunkering sites and refineries have been dismantled within the past three years, while scores of suspects behind the illegal acts have been arrested by operatives of the Corps.

The IPMAN national president, Abubakar Shettima, and his executive members, however, promised to establish a vibrant collaboration aimed at combating pipeline vandalism, smuggling and adulteration of petroleum products and oil theft in the country.

“Your visionary leadership as the CG of the NSCDC has continued to transform the Corps into a robust, efficient and one of the modern security institutions in Nigeria.

“This leadership instinct has been noticed both locally and in the international terrain. There are living testimonies attesting to the giant strides and remarkable achievements of the NSCDC especially in discharging the statutory mandate.

“The Agro Rangers Squad, Special Female Squad, CG’s Special Intelligence Squad, Antivandal Squad, Mining Marshall and other special forces are doing greatly well in safeguarding the nation’s critical infrastructure, fighting illegal dealings in petroleum products, illegal mining activities, pipeline vandalism, abduction and kidnapping of school children amongst others.

“All these and many other reasons have informed our visit to you with the delight to strengthen collaborations between IPMAN and NSCDC because our passionate goal is that Nigeria would upscale her crude oil production most especially for local consumption”, the IPMAN President said.

Dr Audi expressed the readiness of the Corps to partner with reputable organizations and institutions that have a passion for the security of lives and protection of government facilities to boost the Nation’s economy and enhance its security architecture.

He noted in a statement by the NSCDC Public Relations Officer, Babawale Afolabi that the nation depends on oil as its economic mainstay and would do everything possible within the law to protect the sector from sabotage.

 He further said though the government has made remarkable efforts to diversify into other sectors, the richest part of the nation’s economy hinges on Crude oil.

The CG said over 450 illegal bunkering sites and local refineries have been dismantled while over 300 oil thieves and their sponsors have been arrested and made to face the full wrath of the law.

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“There is an emerging trend of mode of conveyance called “Cotonou Boat” which can contain about 150 drums. If you multiply that number by five to six Cotonou Boats caught with stolen crude oil: you would see how much is siphoned per time.

“Facing court judgment are suspects arrested for pipeline vandalism and illegal dealings in petroleum products while others were caught after they already vandalized an oil well head tap into in and siphoned crude loaded in tankers with the of transporting to would-be buyers.

“We have also arrested a suspect who paved the way through the sea, punctured the Pipeline, and connected pipes through the valve directly to his residence where about 3 Trucks are loaded daily; these are reasons we should consciously make concerted efforts to salvage the nation’s economy from ruthless saboteurs”, Dr Audi said.

There is no place for illegal bunkerers to hide in the Niger Delta, Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited (TSSNL), a private firm operated by High Chief (Dr.) Government Ekpemupolo a.k.a Tompolo, has reassured.

The firm gave the reassurance on receiving the 2023 Vanguard Crude Oil Infrastructure Security award, at a ceremony held in Lagos, Friday night.

Dr. Paul Bebenimibo, media consultant to Tantita who received the award on behalf of the company said that the award will spur the organisation into greater achievements.

Bebenimibo said that Tantita’s desire to attain two million barrels per day has further been catalysed by the flurry of awards given the company in recognition of their work so far.

“We are elated and it’s a call to service. We are poised to do our best to sanitise the crude oil industry. In fact, our message has always been that illegal bunkerers and those that are involved in such activity should keep clear.

“They don’t have any place to hide and Tantita will come after them and make sure that our production gets to the peak and generate more money for the country.”

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Reports by the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), between 2019 and 2020 had indicated losses of 42.248 million barrels ($2.772 billion) in 2019 and 53.056 million barrels ($2.21billion) in 2020.

Following the continuous decline in Nigeria’s crude oil output occasioned by theft and pipeline vandalism, former President Muhammadu Buhari awarded a Pipeline Security Contract to TSSNL in 2022.

The efforts have paid off as Nigeria’s average rig count, an index of measuring activities in the upstream sector, rose year-on-year (YoY), by 62 per cent between June and October 2023.

Based on the firm’s performance, President Bola Tinubu has been encouraged to renew the contract, thus enabling Tantita to continue its security operations in the oil-rich region.

In a related development, ex-President of the Nigerian Football Federation, Amaju Pinick, has harped on the essence of recognising the achievements of Tompolo and the Tantita Security Services in bringing stability to the region.

The Minister of Defence, Muhammed Badaru Abubabar, said proliferation of small arms and light weapons were a major cause of oil theft, illegal oil refining and kidnapping in the Niger Delta region.

He said crude oil theft and illegal refining of crude oil were serious crimes against Nigeria and Nigerians.

The Minister spoke on Thursday while delivering a keynote address at the opening of the 13th National Security Seminar 2024 organised by the Alumni Association of the National Defence College, in Abuja.

Speaking on the theme of the seminar: “Curbing oil theft and illegal crude oil refining in Nigeria”, Badaru emphasised the need for decisive action to combat the menace in the Niger Delta region.

Badaru stressed the importance of implementing comprehensive strategies to curtail oil theft and illegal refining of crude oil, and restore normalcy to affected communities.

He said: “We must continue to broaden the use of appropriate technology in warfare to enhance our situation awareness and execution.

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“These are essential to ensuring that life in the Niger Delta, especially the host communities, return to normalcy.”

The Minister commended President Bola Tinubu for his commitment to national security, and acknowledged the sacrifices of the Nigerian military and other agencies in tackling insecurity in Nigeria. 

He said the significant increase in crude oil production was as a result of the efforts of the Nigerian military, adding that the success was due to President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda on security of the nation.

The Minister commended AANDEC for bringing the issues of security of the Niger Delta region to the forefront.

He said with these efforts the country would achieve the desired national objective of curtailing oil theft and improving its revenue.

In their bid to shore up crude oil production, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, and Chief of Defense Staff, Gen Christopher Musa, on Thursday, April 18, reaffirmed their commitments to curb pipeline vandalization and crude oil theft in the country.

The drive to ramp up production will not only culminate in increased revenue for Nigeria, it will also address the forex challenge and boost the nation’s economy, according to the minister.

Lokpobiri made this known while playing host to Musa, who led a military delegation to his office in Abuja.

He said: “The quickest way to solving our economic problems is through oil and gas.

“Today, oil sells for over $90 per barrel, and if we ramp production and reduce the level of oil theft and pipeline vandalization, we will be able to raise the requisite money to fund not only our budget, take care of our forex problem and then ensure that we stabilize our economy as a country.”

According to him, no country in the world does not prioritize, security and investment in its oil assets, be it Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Brazil, US.

He was optimistic that the CDS, who is very familiar with the Niger Delta terrain will address the situation.

“Your appointment is putting a round peg in a round hole because everyone in Bayelsa sees you as a Bayelsan man and there is no creek that you don’t know,” said Lokpobiri.

He said it was incumbent on the military to reduce crude oil theft and pipeline vandalization to the barest minimum even if they cannot eradicate it.

The minister expressed hope that working together with the military, the country will be able to tackle the crime in order to reap the benefits from the hydrocarbon production.

His words: “As a top military, part of our own objective is to reduce pipeline vandalization and oil theft to the barest minimum. We cannot completely eliminate it but working with you, together we can reduce it to the barest minimum so that we can benefit from the production of oil and gas.”

He added that the ministry and CDS will still work in partnership with the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and other agencies to address the menace of illegal refining, crude oil theft and pipeline vandalization.

According to him, once the nation tackles the crime, it will harness the feedstock (crude oil) needed by the domestic refineries.

He said: “By the time we increase production we will be able to take care of the feedstock needed by Dangote Refinery, Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna refineries, and modular refineries that we have so that we can have full benefit across the entire value chain.”

Speaking earlier on, Musa noted that crude oil being Nigeria’s economic mainstay, deserves all the military support it needs.

He said the military is aware that President Bola Tinubu has mandated the minister to secure the Niger Delta and all other oil fields to ramp up production.

He pledged the support of the armed forces to the oil and gas sector.

The CDS said: “We know all the challenges that we are facing, some of them directly, some indirectly, but to assure you that the Armed Forces of Nigeria are fully in support of you and your ministry and will continue to provide the necessary support to ensure that the country benefits from the God-given resources that we have.”

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Musa appreciated the fact that there has been an improvement in production.

He said added: “Since you came in there has been much improvement in production and a lot of the issues we were having challenges with, the illegal refineries, the pollution of the environment, all these things have gone drastically down and production is going up.

“We want to appeal to all Nigerians to join hands together with you and the security forces to ensure that we secure whatever it is that God has given us.

” If we don’t take advantage of it now we don’t know what will happen tomorrow. The world is dynamic and things are changing very fast.”

Managing Director of Flamingo Energy and Innovations in Rivers State, Maxwell Atago, has said the alternative means of livelihood component in Ogoni Cleanup will reduce restiveness and illegal oil bunkering.

Atago spoke after supervising the qualifying examination for 80 Ogoni youths trained in Crane Operations under United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Livelihood Support Programme of HydroCarbon Pollution and Remediation Project (HYPREP), in Port Harcourt, the state capital yesterday.

Atago  decried lack of skilled manpower for oil and gas and commended HYPREP for the training to bridge the gap.

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“If HYPREP will sustain the programme, youth restiveness and oil theft would be a thing of the past.

“Once HYPREP is done training 5000 persons in skill acquisition, the manpower shortage would be reduced…”he said.

The training was conducted with J. Bundeb Sylmer Associates.

Atago lauded the partners for their commitment, noting beneficiaries were trained in crane operations, electrical instrumentation, Safety and Rigging operations, among others.