The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) on Wednesday revealed that it has discovered an illegal 4-kilometre (km) pipeline from Forcados terminal to the sea, and a loading port that had operated secretly in the last nine years.
This was said by NNPC Limited’s Group Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari, during his Tuesday testimony before the Senate’s Joint Committee on Petroleum (Upstream and Downstream), Oil, and Gas Secror.
He said that a recent six-week crackdown on theft led to the discovery of the pipeline.
“Oil theft in the country has been going on for over 22 years but the dimension and rate it assumed in recent times is unprecedented,” Kyari said.
“The Brass, Forcados, and the Bonny terminals, are all practically doing zero production today; the combined effect is that you have lost 600,000 barrels per day when you do a reality test.
“As a result of oil theft, Nigeria loses about 600,000 barrels per day, which is not healthy for the nation’s economy, and in particular, the legal operators in the field, which had led to a close down of some of their operational facilities.
“But in rising to the highly disturbing challenge, NNPCL has in recent times in collaboration with relevant security agencies, clamped down on the economic saboteurs.
“In the course of the clamp down within the last six weeks, 395 illegal refineries have been deactivated, 274 reservoirs destroyed, 1, 561 metal tanks destroyed, 49 trucks seized and the most striking of all is the four-kilometre illegal oil connection line from Forcados Terminal into the sea which had been in operation undetected for nine solid years.”
As part of its efforts to counter the danger, the NNPCL, according to Kyari, performed aerial surveillance of the affected areas and saw economic saboteurs executing their plans unchecked.
He claims that the level of oil theft at the moment brings together social and security challenges.
He said, “It is not only security but social as locals in most areas where the illegal refiners operate, unknowingly serve as their employees by mistaking them for operatives of licensed companies for oil exploration and production in the area.
“It is not abnormal to involve non-state actors for protection of oil pipelines and other critical infrastructure as done in Cambodia and Mexico which produced desired results.”
Committee members suggested that culprits receive the death penalty following more than four hours of lively discussion. The plenary will be asked to consider this suggestion.
Mohammed Sabo Nakudu, the chairman of the joint committee, gave Kyari instructions to prepare for supervision activities at the refineries in Port Harcourt and Warri in order to verify claims of restoration.