Crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism continues to defy government’s efforts in tackle the menace.
While the military operations in the South-South code-named Delta Safe says more than 4 Million Litres of crude oil have been recovered in the past 6 months, the country’s petroleum company, NNPCL, laments that there have been 9000 infractions on pipelines.
Crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism are significant problems in Nigeria, with severe environmental, economic and social impact.
In 2021, Nigeria lost more than 115 million barrels of crude oil to theft and vandalism, this led to a revenue loss of around $3.3 billion, representing about 10% of the country’s total crude oil production for that year.
According to OPEC, the country lost 105,000 barrels of crude oil daily in February, when compared to the daily crude oil volumes produced in January.
The country’s petroleum company, NNPC Limited has said there were 9000 infractions on Crude oil pipelines within a year.
Efforts to curb the menace is yielding results, although marginally.
We joined the troops on patrol of the creeks and rivers of Nembe, Bayelsa State.
The mangrove trees form a boulevard on either side of the waterway.
The environmental impact of crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism becomes even more obvious.
Thick films of oil cover the water, causing harm to the local ecosystem.
The patrol reveals several illegal refining sites for stolen crude, deactivated by the troops.
A footage obtained from the Headquarters of Operation Delta Safe shows the destruction of one of the sites.
We gathered that operators of the illegal refining sites insist on continuing with their illegal business, in spite of the clampdown from government.
While breaches to pipeline and illegal refining of stolen crude persists, those involved may be doing it at their peril.
