OIL THEFT: Involvement of communities, religious groups identified, as NNPCL boss says fuel importation stops 2023
*Says Dangote Refinery, to augment output from state-owned refineries in meeting Nigerians’ demand, starts work next year
By KEMI KASUMU
The involvement of communities and religious groups in theft of petroleum products in the country has been identified as big challenge in the oil and gas sector of the nation’s economy.
This came to public knowledge as the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), Malam Mele Kyari, raised the alarm over at the weekly Ministerial Media Briefing on Tuesday.
Organised by the Presidential Media Team, led by Mr Femi Adesina and joined from Lagos by The DEFENDER, the media press briefing served as a ready avenue for the chief of oil sector to ventilate the worries about oil theft.
According to him, churches, mosques, security agencies as well as communities where pipelines pass through were involved in pipeline vandalism and theft of petroleum products.
He said so far, the NNPC, in conjunction with security agencies, had destroyed 959 metal tanks for storage purposes, 737 ovens, 452 dug-out pits, 355 cooking pots, and 179 wooden boats between April and August, this year.
He added that the security officials also recovered 207 pumping machines, 12 welding machines, two power generators, and two filling machines.
Kyari said 11 vessels, 30 speed boats, 37 trucks and cars were impounded, while 122 suspects were arrested in connection with various cases of theft of petroleum products.
He said: ”As you may also be aware, because of the very unfortunate acts of vandals along our major pipelines from Atlas Cove all the way to Ibadan, and all others connecting all the 37 depots that we have across the country.
”You know, none of them can take delivery of products today.
Kyari said: ”And the reason is very simple. For some of the lines, for instance, from Warri to Benin, we haven’t operated that line for 15 years. Every molecule of product that we put get lost.
”And of course you remember the tragic fire incident very close to Warri, close to Sapele that killed so many people.
“So, we had to shut it down and as we speak, the level of losses that we have on our product pipeline, and I’m sure you may have seen it and I’ll invite you at the right time so we can take a look at it jointly.”
He also recalled the fire outbreak happened in the Lagos area, adding, ”in one of our pipelines, we discovered that some of the pipelines were actually connected to individuals homes.
“And not only that, and with all sensitivity to our religious beliefs, you know, some of the pipelines and some of the products that we found, were actually in churches and in mosques.
“That means that everybody is involved. There is no way you will take products, bring in trucks in populated neighborhoods, load it and leave without everybody else knowing about it.
”That everybody includes members of the community, members of the religious leadership and also and most likely government officials of all natures, including security agencies personnel.
”They are everywhere. And I’ve seen this even in the Niger Delta. There’s no way you would deliver a volume and lose up to 30 percent and you will continue to put that products in this line.”
He, however, revealed, the NNPCL had recovered 35.8 million litres of the stolen crude oil, 22 million litres of diesel, 0.15 litres of petrol, and 0.76 million litres of kerosene.
The NNPCL boss said that the country would stop importation of petroleum products by 2023 while noting that the corporation had the right to 20 percent of production from the Dangote Refinery.
He said the Dangote Refinery, which will begin production next year, will augment the output from state-owned refineries to meet Nigerians’ demand for petroleum products.
“The NNPC owns 20 percent equity in the Dangote refinery and not only that, and we’re very proud of this. We’re not only owning 20% equity, we have the first right of refusal to supply crude oil to that plant. But we saw this energy transition challenge coming we knew at that time will come when you will look for people who will buy your crude oil you will not find and that means that we have locked down the ability to sell crude oil for 330,000 barrels minimum by right for the next 20 years.
“Also, by right also we have access to 20 percent of the production from that plant. That means that whatever it does, you know we have a right to take 20 percent of that production as part of our equity and this refinery will come on stream latest by the middle of next year.
“Projection is the first quarter, but we think that it can come up latest by the middle of next year. If it does, this refinery alone, because it has a 650,000 per barrel capacity and different technology, means that it can crack the crude in a manner that you can have more gasoline than a typical refinery.
“That means that the refinery has the ability to produce up to 50 million litres of PMS. So, the combination of that and our ability to bring back our refinery will completely eliminate any potential petroleum product into this country next year. You will not see any importation into this country next year. This is very practical. This is possible,” Kyari said.
“As a matter of fact, when we’re done with our refineries and the Dangote Refinery, very many small initiatives that we are doing; small, modular, condenser refineries that we’re building, if that happens, and we are very optimistic it will happen, you will see that this country will now be a net exporter, we hope of export of petroleum products, not just to the west African sub-region, but to the rest of the world.
“This will happen, and the flow of supply will change. By the middle of next year, it will change. So, you will have no need for the importation of petroleum products into this country by the middle of next year,” Kyari added.
