The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) has revealed that an alarming 188 incidents of oil theft were recorded across various locations in the Niger Delta region within a one-week period, from August 24 to 30.
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The NNPC, in a visual report, disclosed that 89 illegal refineries were located and dismantled during the same period. Several illegal connections were uncovered in Bayelsa, Abia, and Rivers States, with illegal refineries also destroyed in Abia and Rivers States. The company stated that illegal storage sites resembling pond-like reservoirs were discovered in Abia, while crude oil spills occurred in Abia, Rivers, and Bayelsa due to illegal connections.
Vandalism incidents were noted, and a boat carrying metals from vandalized oil wellheads was accosted in Rivers. On land, trucks and vehicles carrying stolen crude oil were seized at various locations in Delta State. Wooden boats conveying stolen crude oil were also intercepted in Rivers, Bayelsa, and Akwa-Ibom States.
The NNPC reported that 31 suspected oil thieves were arrested and handed over to government security agents for further investigations. Group Chief Executive Officer Mele Kyari lamented the spate of oil theft, describing it as the most humongous and virulent economic crime in Nigeria.
Kyari stated, “Today, we have disconnected up to 4,846 illegal pipes connected to our pipelines, which is out of 5,543 such illegal connection points. That means there are a vast number of such connections that we have not removed. These things don’t just happen from the blues. They happen in communities and locations we all know. As we remove one illegal connection, another one comes up. It is sad.”
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He emphasized that this kind of oil theft does not happen anywhere else in the world, adding, “When we say illegal connections, they are not invisible things, they are big pipes that require some level of expertise to be installed. Some of them are of the same size as the trunk line itself. No one would produce crude oil knowing full well that it is not going to get to the terminal. That is why nobody is putting money into the business. So, you can’t grow production.”
