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128 crude oil theft incidents were reported between September 30 and October 6 in all of the Niger Delta’s oil-producing regions.
This is stated in a report from the NTA News Network’s weekly “Energy and You” program, which is produced by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).
The research claims that there were a lot of illegal operations in the oil sector over the time period given.
These included 49 wooden boat arrests, 27 illegal refineries, 17 unauthorized connections, 11 AIS offences, and 17 unlawful refineries.
Additionally, 10 pipeline vandalism incidents and 10 vehicle-related arrests occurred.
Two unlawful storage facilities were also found, and the authorities took action against them. Additionally, they located 1 oil leak site and detained a vessel engaging in illegal activity.
The report continued by highlighting a critical Tantita Security Services Limited incident that occurred that week.
In Warri, Delta State, they found a wellhead that had been vandalized and was spilling oil into the water, polluting the environment.
Unsettlingly, the security organization learned that foreign ships were taking oil from this location and selling it in neighboring nations, worsening the situation’s environmental and economic effects.
The cases of crude oil theft were alarmingly common, occurring in a number of places in the vulnerable Niger Delta states of Delta, Rivers, Bayelsa, and Imo.
Surprisingly, the thefts were dispersed throughout several marine areas, highlighting the scope of this criminal activity.
Twelve incidences of crude oil theft occurred in the Deep Blue Water alone, showing the courage of thieves to enter riskier and deeper maritime regions.
The Western region, which is nearer the coast, had 37 recorded theft cases, demonstrating the seriousness of the problem there.
The Central region, which is closer to the Niger Delta’s center, saw 25 thefts of crude oil. The most concerning statistics came from the Eastern Niger Delta, where a startling 54 instances of crude oil theft were documented.
The Senate Committees on Petroleum Resources (Upstream, Downstream, and Gas), Host Communities, and Niger Delta Affairs received a directive from Senate President Godswill Akpabio on Tuesday, October 10 to launch investigations into the actions of security forces, militia groups, local residents, oil company employees, and any other people or entities suspected of using sophisticated techniques to steal from oil facilities.
He issued the order following Senator Ned Nwoko’s revelation that Nigeria had already lost N2.3 trillion to crude oil theft this year.
Source: allnewsng.com
