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From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, has disclosed churches, mosques, security agencies as well as communities where pipelines pass through are involved in pipeline vandalism and theft of petroleum products.
Kyari also declared that the decision to hire private contractors, including that of Commander of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, Government Ekpemupolo, otherwise known as Tompolo, to man its oil pipeline network nationwide, was the right one.
He made the disclosure yesterday, at the 49th Session of State House Briefing organised by the Presidential Communication Team, adding that the shutting down of pipelines in the country was deliberate, owing to the challenge of not operating as a business, thereby, causing them to incur losses.
He said: “As you may also be aware because of the very unfortunate acts of vandals along our major pipelines from Atlas Cove all the way to Ibadan, and all others connecting all the 37 depots that we have across the country. You know, none of them can take delivery of products today.
“And the reason is very simple. For some of the lines, for instance, from Warri to Benin, we haven’t operated that line for 15 years.
“Every molecule of product that we put gets lost. And, of course, you remember the sad incident of the fire incident very close to Warri, close to Sapele, that killed so many people.
“You remember that in the Lagos area, when a fire outbreak happened in one of our pipelines, we discovered that some of the pipelines were actually connected to individual homes. And not only that, with all sensitivity to our religious beliefs, you know, some of the pipelines and some of the products that we found are actually in churches and in mosques.
“That means that everybody is involved. There is no way you will take products, bring in trucks in populated neighbourhoods, load it and leave without everybody else knowing about it.
“That everybody includes members of the community, members of the religious leadership and, also, most likely, government officials, including security agencies’ personnel. They are everywhere, and I’ve seen this even in the Niger Delta. There’s no way you would deliver a volume and lose up to 30 percent, and you continue to put that product in the same line.”
The CEO said that the NNPCL management is currently building National Reserve Company, adding that 295 illegal connections were discovered in one line, in less than 200 metres, and that the company, with the help of the security agencies and the directive of the Chief of Defence Staff, were able to intervene.
Kyari said, so far, 30 speed boats, 179 wooden boats and 37 trucks have been arrested, adding that a decision has been taken not to arrest any longer, but to burn such confiscated products.
The NNPCL boss added that 122 people, comprising highly placed individuals, were arrested between April and August, and that some of them have been handed over to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). He said 739 ovens for the illegal crude oil theft were discovered and some destroyed. Also discovered were 344 reservoirs and 355 cooking pots.
“It simply means destruction of the environment. We have lost revenue,” he declared.
On the decision to hire private contractors to man its oil pipeline network nationwide, Kyari argued that although the security agencies are doing their part, end-to-end pipeline surveillance would require the involvement of private entities and community stakeholders.
Kyari explained that although the federal government is not dealing directly with the former warlord, it has signed a contract with a company in which Tompolo has interests. Hei also disclosed that the leadership of the NNPC have also borrowed $1 billion from the AFREXIM Bank, to fix the country’s refineries, which would result in 90 percent efficiency.
He said the lenders’ conditions for giving out the loan is tied to the productivity of the refineries, for them to recoup their money, boasting that NNPC would deliver on the rehabilitation exercise. He said there would not be any importation of petroleum products by the middle of next year.
On how to end petroleum products’ importation by middle of 2023, the oil chief revealed that a combination of production from the national refineries, which are currently being refurbished, would be ready next year, and the products from the Dangote Refinery, in which Nigeria has a 20% stake, would help the country meet domestic needs without importation from mid-2023.
