• Vandalism, theft ‘to end in eight months’
State-run oil firm, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has said it is working towards deploying drones across the nation’s territorial waters to monitor inwards and outwards movement of oil bearing vessels.
Its Group Managing Director (GMD), Dr. Ibe Kachikwu gave indication to this yesterday in Abuja, said the oil firm is working on a range of far reaching options designed to end the ugly episodes of crude and petroleum products theft within the next eight months
He unveiled the plan during a presentation he made at a special conference on Security in the Gulf of Guinea organised by the Gusau Institute.
A statement endorsed by its Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Mr. Ohi Alegbe quoted the helmsman as saying: “ We are launching an armada of approaches which will include incorporation of drones to check movements of vessels within our territorial waters; we are looking at the current logistical nightmares of changing staffing at the loading bay of crude oil export terminals virtually every 90 days; we are trying to equip the navy sufficiently though they are very well-equipped in terms of skill set but not in terms of arsenal for patrols within the maritime area.”
On the issue of pipeline protection, the GMD explained that though the Corporation is working assiduously with the law enforcement agencies to increase the presence of military personnel in the area, the ultimate security for the critical oil and gas assets lies squarely with the host communities.
“The best security for these pipelines lies with the communities. We are trying to create enough incentives for them to see these pipelines as their own,’’ he said, lamenting that the untold impact of oil theft on the smooth operations of the nation’s refineries.
The GMD warned that if left unchecked, the menace could invariably make it impossible for the NNPC to operate the refineries.
“Most of our product pipelines are ruptured and attacked frequently. For instance between June 2014 and June 2015, we recorded about 3, 500 to 4,000 attempts at the various products pipelines across the country. In addition to that, the pipelines that are supposed to convey crude to the refineries are perpetually hacked, ’’ he said.
Dr. Kachikwu noted that the resort to the use of marine vessels to convey crude oil to the refineries has been coming at heavy cost to the NNPC.
“What this means is that no matter what we do with the refineries today, unless that is solved, we really are going nowhere, we cannot operate the refineries,” he said.
He explained that beyond the loss of crude oil and finished products, the incidents of oil theft have also claimed a huge number of human lives, lamening that over the last three years, no fewer than 350 persons including NNPC workers, police officers and community members have been killed as a result of activities of oil thieves.
“Today, I ask all of you to join us in this campaign; it is not just a campaign for NNPC but it is a campaign for every Nigerian…. So it is war time, it is business time, it is focus time and there is a lot to do. Everybody is being called to the table and everybody is being put on the state of alert but in eight months, we must be able to deliver an environment that is free from the vices of oil theft,’’ Dr Kachikwu said.
He said in executing the campaign, adequate support will be sought from the international community, especially from countries that have become host nations to the stolen cargoes.
Prime Minister, São Tomé and Principe, Mr Patrice Trovoada, urged regional cooperation and integration to end sea piracy in the Gulf of Guinea.
He stressed the need for greater synergy among countries in the Gulf of Guinea to fight poverty and enhance intelligence gathering to defeat Boko Haram in the region.
“We need regional dialogue to share experience to understand ourselves better. We need to improve on judiciary and build the institution to ensure sustainable development. Nigeria and São Tomé share common principles in terms fight against corruption and promoting good governance, “ he said.
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