Oil theft substantially addressed with new security architecture –Wunti

By Adewale Sanyaolu

Still basking in the euphoria of successes being recorded in the fight against crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism, the Chief Investment Officer of the NNPC Upstream Investment Management Services (NUIMS), an arm of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), Mr. Bala Wunti, has said the menace of oil theft had been substantially addressed with the Federal Government’s new security architecture.

He also said persons arrested in connection with criminal oil theft and bunkering activities are currently undergoing prosecution, adding that in due course, their identities will be disclosed to the shock of Nigerians.

The CIO stated these yesterday on Arise News Channel’s The Morning Show, where he attributed the current fuel scarcity to hiccups in the petroleum products distribution system. Wunti said the successes recorded in the fight against crude theft which saw the Nigeria’s oil production climb up to 1.59 barrels per day, was the result of improvements in the security architecture driven by technology.

He said the achievements were cumulative results of technology, improved security architecture, the synergy between government security agencies, private security contractors and community assistance.

He said, “And the new architecture was anchored basically on rectangular architecture layered on technology. It brings together the security and intelligence agency at one angle, the regulators at another angle, the operators at another angle, and then brings in what was almost zero -the community into the other angle without which you can’t achieve that.

“That is just the innovation and we layered it on a technology -Command and Control Centre. I’m glad this media house has visited that Command and Control Centre. Today, we have end-to-end visibility, we are able to detect, we are able to deter and we are able to respond. We are still making a lot of improvement and that’s what you call the 3DR: we first detect, we deactivate and we destroy and then we remove.

“The success that we recorded today was essentially because of this improved security situation. We’re now almost at an average of 350,000 barrels increase. At a certain level, we recorded up to 450,000 increase at a given year. So you can see, we’re now from 1.1 barely to about 1.59 barrels this morning. So these are some of the things we have been able to record on the new security architecture.”

“I can tell you that we have successfully to some extent stopped this menace.”

On update about criminals arrested in connection with the oil theft, Wunti disclosed that they are currently undergoing prosecution and that their identities will be made known by security agencies after prosecution.

He said the names that would be announced as culprits will shock Nigerians.

He said more arrests had been made since the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC, Mele Kyari, first spoke about those arrested in connection with the criminal oil theft.

“As I speak to you now, some of them are undergoing prosecution. There are certain things to be done in terms of the announcement. The government, particularly the intelligence agencies including the Financial Intelligence agency are following the money.

“Sometimes, when you go out quickly, you tend to compromise certain things. And I believe the detail and the diligence are being implemented. So it’s not whether or not those people will be named. People will be named. The question is when? And I think when government agencies and intelligence agencies have concluded what they are doing, I’m sure everybody will get to know who are involved. As to who and who? Eyes will be shocked”, Wunti said.

On the current fuel scarcity in the country, Wunti blamed the situation on the hiccups around the product distribution system, saying supply was not the reason for the disruption in the value chain.

He explained that the task of making any product available rests on 4As -making available, affordable, accessible and in an acceptable format.

He added that guaranteeing security of products rests on the supply, distribution and retail, pointing out that the challenge in Nigeria has always been more around distribution than supply. He said there areabout two billion litres of petrol in stock but that the volume would only make an impact on the people all of it was sent to filling stations.

Wunti explained, “Needless to say, 60 to 65 per cent of the country source their product from Lagos. At the last count, we only have 35,000 trucks. That 35,000 crisscross this country. They go to Maiduguri, Sokoto, Calabar and the rate at which they make their turnaround has changed significantly from one week to 10 days. Now, they hardly do once in a month. That brought about several constraints.

“We all know what the problem was in the last supply disruption. Around Apapa axis, there was a blockage. No truck loaded can leave and that created a problem. If you stay one day without delivering product to Lagos, you need a minimum of one week to supply at higher rate to address that. If you waste two days, it will take you almost three weeks to close the gap and if you waste three days, it will take you one month. That is the problem.

“Even as at today, we have about two billion litres. That two billion litres are supposed to be in our stock, in our depots, either NNPC or other private depots. What constitutes this two billion litres is what you have in the marine and what you have in the stock, in the depots. But your ability to take this two billion litres to the stations is where the problem lies.”