Oil theft: Experts indict FG, security agencies as Equatorial Guinea arrests tanker
•Navy denies involvement
The Federal Government and security agencies were, yesterday, indicted in the alleged nonchalance attitude in tackling oil theft in Nigeria.
This was even as a vessel with three million barrels of crude from Nigeria was intercepted in Equatorial Guinea.
Speaking in separate interviews with Vanguard yesterday, many experts wondered aloud how the vessel managed to beat the security agencies, especially the navy, to enter the country to illegally take crude.
Former chairman, Board of Trustees, Society of Petroleum Engineers, Engr. Alex Niyi, said many stakeholders, including the government and its agencies, were aware of the workings of oil thieves.
He said: “Without doubt, the government is aware and other agencies, including some elements in the Navy are involved in the crude oil theft business. Crude theft is a close gear to all these persons.
“Government is not serious as regards stopping this business as it is the bread and butter of some security officials and top politicians.
“I saw it in 1983 and since then it is ongoing. It is a syndicate operation. Some multinationals companies offshore, has their tankers waiting to get the product from the well heads as well. They sometimes drop a rod at the well head, and for those who makes it sophisticated, they drill a hole at the flow line and attach another connection and open up to load their barge.”
Experts indict FG, security agencies
Similarly, the National President, Oil and Gas Services Providers Association, Mazi Colman Obasi, said it was wrong for Nigerians to think that oil theft was limited to a few persons that cut pipelines in Niger Delta communities.
According to him, “oil theft is a large-scale operation involving the collaboration of many elements, including oil thieves and their foreign partners because the huge volume cannot be stolen in cans.”
Navy denies involvement
However, the Director of Naval Information, DINFO, and spokesperson of the Nigerian Navy, Commodore Adedotun Olukayode Ayo-Vaughan, denied the involvement of the Navy.
He said: “Navy has no involvement on any allegation of whatsoever as regards crude theft. We operate within the stipulated areas of our jurisdiction and work to secure our waterways.
“We carry out a lot of duties and at time people point at the Navy in the direction, but that is not the case.”
Too many people involved, says ex-NNPC official
Speaking on Arise Television programme monitored by Vanguard, yesterday, a former General Manager, Planning and Business Development of Nigeria National Petroleum Company, NNPC, Engineer Babajide Soyode, said the country’s security agencies should be held responsible for the prolonged oil theft in the nation.
He said: “Too many people are involved in the stealing of crude. The security agencies are aware of what is going on and decided to look the other way because they know there are powerful people involved and of course, they are also beneficiaries”.
“Do you know that one tanker with 3 million barrels capacity oil stolen from Nigeria translates to 300 million dollars in the international market at current rates? Who can’t those behind the stealing not bribed with that kind of money? In a corrupt country like Nigeria?”
“Imagine the case of the oil tanker with that capacity that was intercepted at Equatorial Guinea with Nigerian stolen crude. How come our Navy did not detect that the ship entered our waters illegally and left without proper documentation and clearance?”
?The former NNPC General Manager also said that the National Petroleum Investment Management Services, NAPIMS, has to explain to the nation why they are not monitoring the sales of Nigeria crude.
“NAPIMS is a Corporate Services Unit (CSU) in the Exploration and Production (E&P) Directorate of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation charged with the responsibility of managing Nigeria Government’s investment in the upstream sector of the oil and gas industry?
SOURCE: vanguardngr.com
