Nigeria must tackle crude oil theft, pipeline vandalism – Abbas

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abbas Tajudeen, has said that Nigeria must tackle production constraints, crude oil theft, pipeline vandalism and other challenges confronting the petroleum sector.

Abbas stated this, while declaring open a retreat on the implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), organized by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) in collaboration with the Office of the Speaker, on Monday, in Abuja.

The Speaker noted that the House acknowledges that the protection of national petroleum assets is not just an industry concern, but also an economic and national security imperative.

According to him, the the parliament has continued its probe into crude oil theft, as well as scrutiny of the pipeline surveillance arrangements among other interventions aimed at strengthening the security of petroleum infrastructure.

He said “Nigeria must contend with production constraints, crude oil theft, pipeline vandalism, infrastructure deficiencies, investment uncertainty, regulatory bottlenecks and the need to optimise domestic refining capacity.

” We must also ensure that adequate crude oil supplies are available to domestic refineries without undermining the commercial viability of upstream operations.
Our gas resources equally represent an enormous but insufficiently realised national asset. Unlocking their potential requires sustained investment in infrastructure, appropriate commercial arrangements and regulatory certainty.

“These challenges cannot be addressed by legislation alone. They demand consistent implementation, institutional coordination, credible regulatory enforcement and investor confidence.”

Abbas noted that discourse on the impact of PIA reforms on NNPCL governance and accountability must establish whether the new corporate structure is delivering the transparency, efficiency and commercial discipline envisaged by the Act.

“Ultimately, the success of the PIA must be measured beyond institutional restructuring and corporate performance indicators. It must be reflected in increased production, greater investment, improved energy security, stronger domestic refining, enhanced revenue generation, employment opportunities and tangible benefits for Nigerians, particularly communities that host petroleum operations,” he stated.