The Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mele Kyari, yesterday intensified the fight against oil theft, appealing to the Nigerian military to continue its onslaught against crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism as the country incurs huge losses.
Kyari called on the military to intensify its fight against the menace, stressing that the ongoing fight against the menace has led to improved growth in the country’s crude oil production.
Kyari made the appeal when he received Army Chief Christopher Musa and other senior military officials on a visit to the NNPC Tower in Abuja, according to a statement by the national oil company’s Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Olufemi Soneye.
Nigeria is losing trillions of naira annually to oil theft and pipeline vandalism, putting it on track to miss quarterly targets set by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) for years. While data varies on the actual volume and value of oil stolen daily in Nigeria, the Nigerian Senate said in October last year that the country lost 2.3 trillion naira in 2023 due to the menace of crude oil theft.
In April this year, Speaker of the House of Representatives Abbas Tajudeen said Nigeria loses 1.29 trillion naira annually to oil theft, pipeline vandalism, and other forms of crime.
Specifically, he said Nigeria loses about 300,000 barrels of crude oil to theft every day and called on the military to confront the situation.
Earlier in August 2023, National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, revealed that despite efforts to end the menace, Nigeria still loses about 400,000 barrels of crude oil daily to domestic and foreign thieves. “I personally call for continued and increased efforts on security as we have reached a new production peak not seen in the last three years.
“This is clearly related to the sustained efforts by the armed forces and other security agencies to protect our critical assets, particularly the pipeline infrastructure in specified areas where we are working closely with these agencies. We are already seeing the results transforming into increased production,” Kyari said yesterday.
The latest OPEC data for July 2024 shows that Nigeria’s crude oil production increased by 30,000 barrels per day to 1.307 million barrels per day, according to the Monthly Oil Market Report (MOMR). However, condensate, which accounts for a significant portion of Nigeria’s monthly oil production, is not usually included in OPEC production data.
Taking into account the July data released yesterday by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), which counts condensate as part of production, Nigeria’s hydrocarbon production last month was 1.533 million barrels per day, the third highest level this year.
In January, Nigeria’s total production was 1.64 million barrels per day; in February, 1.539 million barrels per day; in March, 1.43 million barrels per day; in April, 1.44 million barrels per day; in May, 1.46 million barrels per day; in June, 1.5 million barrels per day; and in July, 1.533 million barrels per day.
Kyari commended the efforts of the Minister of Defence and his team in securing the country’s vital hydrocarbon resources, especially in the Niger Delta region, in recent months, stressing that the achievements are of vital importance not only to Nigeria but also to the global energy community.
He expressed confidence that Musa and his team would deliver on the President’s mandate to mitigate security challenges affecting the country’s crude oil production.
“Components of this effort that depend on security are being effectively managed by you. Your coordinated and focused response is paving the way for improved security engagement, particularly in the Niger Delta,” Kyari said.
Earlier, Musa said the visit was aimed at introducing to NNPC a monitoring team responsible for working with the company and other stakeholders in oil-producing regions to secure the country’s critical hydrocarbon infrastructure.
The CDS vowed to work on improving the security and performance of the military but said the military will withstand the onslaught and analyze the military’s capabilities to improve performance and boost productivity.
He stressed the need for increased production for a thriving economy, ensuring collaboration with intelligence agencies, private security forces, state governments, and host communities towards improved performance. “Working in silos won’t give us the best results. I want to assure you that we will collaborate with the necessary stakeholders to achieve our set targets as mandated by Mr. President,” he stressed.
Meanwhile, NNPC announced that its investment in the Dangote Oil Refinery has been reduced to 7.2 percent due to a decision to focus partially on compressed natural gas (CNG).
NNPC spokesperson Soneye said this during a call-in program on the Brekete Family program, a popular pidgin radio show in Abuja.
In September 2021, NNPC acquired a 20 percent stake in Dangote Refinery for $2.76 billion. But on July 14, Aliko Dangote, chairman of the 650,000-barrels-per-day Dangote Refinery, announced that NNPC had reduced its stake in the refinery to 7.2 percent.
But an NNPC spokesman stressed that the company has no reason to sabotage the refinery as it owns a stake in the $19 billion company.
“The reason for reducing our stake in Dangote refinery is that we wanted to invest in CNG. We observed that CNG is very cheap and all over the world, people are investing in clean and cheaper alternative energy,” Soneye said in Pidgin.
He explained that there is no problem with the Lagos plant because it is cost-effective for Nigerians to use CNG and NNPC does not regulate downstream. He explained that the only problem, however, is crude oil supply, which the NNPC is unable to supply adequately due to oil theft. He called on Nigerians to join the fight to end the menace.
“That is why the NNPC is building different CNG stations everywhere. We understand that with N10,000, Nigerians can fill their cars and use it for two weeks. We realized that gas is cheaper in Nigeria, why don’t we invest in it since this is what people are doing all over the world?” asked Soneye.
He added, “We want all Nigerians to know that the NNPC does not have any issue with the Dangote Refinery. We are part of the owners of the Dangote Refinery and we don’t want it to collapse.
“We invested billions of naira into the Dangote refinery. As of today, we have a 7.2 percent stake in the refinery. So, why would we want to sabotage such a company?
