Oil theft in Nigeria is still a thorn in the back of the owner of the largest oil and gas reserves in Africa, which deprives it of revenues of millions of barrels per day. In the latest developments in this regard, the leader of the Niger Delta region (rich in oil) accused the armed forces of being involved in these incidents.
The statements of former rebel leader Asari Dokabo came in press statements following his meeting with the country’s new president, Paula Tinubu, a few days ago, according to a report published by the local newspaper “nairametrics” and seen by the specialized energy platform.
Ducabo said: “The armed forces are fully involved in theft of oil, and we have to make it very clear to the Nigerian people that the army steals 99% of the oil, particularly the army and navy.”
Nigeria is facing a very serious crisis caused by oil theft. Despite being at the top of the list of the largest oil-producing countries in the continent, it is forced to import its needs of oil derivatives to meet the internal demand for fuel, which burdens the state treasury with burdensome burdens.
serious accusation
Ducabo denied the story that the armed forces are not adequately equipped to eliminate terrorism, oil theft and militants there (meaning the Niger Delta), describing it as “extortion”, accusing the army leaders of giving up their weapons to the rebels, which fuels the conflict.
And he stressed – after two-hour talks with President Tinubu – that the government, led by the new president, would discover the elements involved in the theft of oil in Nigeria.
He also reassured the country’s new leadership of his full support to end oil theft in the Niger Delta region, saying: “My brothers and I reassured the president to end the incidents of oil theft and sabotage of pipelines in the Niger River Delta.”
“We will talk to the Nigerian National Oil Corporation and the international oil companies,” he continued.
Last April, the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative revealed that Nigeria lost 619.7 million barrels of crude oil due to oil theft between 2009 and 2020.
The international initiative was launched in 2003, and it is one of the international efforts aimed at combating corruption related to oil, gas and mineral revenues, and supports public and transparent administration, by fully publishing and reviewing corporate payments and government revenues from oil, gas and mining, according to the official website of the World Bank.
And in December of last year (2022), the general manager of the Nigerian National Oil Corporation, Milli Kyari, accused the government and security officials of collaborating with thieves to steal oil in Nigeria.
The general manager of the American Chevron Corporation in Nigeria and Central Africa, Richard Kennedy, described the theft of crude oil as organized crime, which should not be linked to issues related to the local community.
Trans Niger Pipeline
Also in the context of an attempt to steal crude oil, the Trans Niger pipeline exploded on March 2 (2023), killing 12 people, according to information seen by the specialized energy platform.
In a related context, Shell’s director in Nigeria, Dr. Usagi Okubur, said that the closure of the Trans Niger pipeline from March 2022 to March 2023 caused a loss of about 65,700 thousand barrels of oil per day, according to a report by the “Punch” newspaper. (punchng) Retrieved by Specialty Energy Platform.
He said that the continued closure of the line for a full year is due to the incidents of oil theft, confirming the country’s loss of about 2.3 trillion naira (3.5 billion US dollars).
($1 = 465.5 naira)
The Trans Niger pipeline transported about 180,000 barrels per day of Bonny Light crude to an export terminal to several European countries, including France, the Netherlands and Spain, as well as some South American countries, such as Brazil and Argentina.
The Navy responds
The Nigerian Navy spokesperson, Commodore Adiduton Ayo-Vaughan, has said that the accusation of the armed forces, especially the navy and army, of being involved in the oil theft in Nigeria is “false and without evidence,” according to a report published by the local newspaper, vanguardngr, and seen by the energy platform. Niche.
Navy spokesman Ducabo challenged the leader of the Niger Delta to name those involved in the theft of oil from the region there.
He said, “No one is afraid of disclosing the names of those involved in the theft of crude oil. These serious accusations cannot be uttered, and to think that we will ignore them. There will be an official response from the Ministry of Defense to the accusation.”
He continued, “The Chief of Defense Staff will not condone that accusation, nor will the Chief of the Naval Staff, under whose leadership I work.”
He added, “The Nigerian Navy is actively participating in the war on theft of crude oil and the wealth of the Niger River Delta. Therefore, for whoever says that there is a gang of army officers, the easiest thing is to come up with evidence and reveal their names.”
Leave a Reply