In a bid to address the spate of oil theft in Nigeria, oil producers have asked the Federal Government to tackle the menace in the Niger Delta region, as the ugly trend was adversely affecting their operations.
The President, Independent Petroleum Producers Group, the umbrella group for indigenous oil producers, Abdulrasaq Isa, decried the challenges of oil theft and called for a definite solution.
He said, “The key challenges now are in the areas of security and high operating costs. We look forward to the government in finding long-lasting and sustainable solutions to these challenges.”
The Group Managing Director, NNPC, Mele Kyari, had last week said the oil firm would increase Nigeria’s oil production.
He spoke at the Nigeria International Energy Summit 2022 in Abuja
He said, “We must clear the resources of today and sustain the transition through some form of resilience until we get to 2060.
“And the easiest way to clear the wealth of today so that we can have the resources that will keep us through this transition is to immediately increase domestic crude oil production.
“There is no other way to doing it. We have challenges today, we have made losses but we are doing something about the security situation in our areas of operations.
“You will see the impacts and effects very soon and the industry will continue to rely on the products that will come from those places.”
Indigenous oil-producing companies are reportedly losing millions of dollars to oil theft, which may mar government and operators’’ opportunity to benefit from the rise in crude oil prices.
The price of the international benchmark, Brent crude, for the better part of 2021 and this year has been above the $70 per barrel mark, jumping to over $125 per barrel this week.
Oil thieves are reportedly cashing in on the rising oil prices to perpetuate their evil act.
The immediate past Director-General, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, Dakuku Peterside, had said, “It is estimated that 80 per cent of the stolen oil is exported, while the balance of 20 per cent goes into illegal refining in ‘refineries’ dotting the landscape of the Niger Delta creeks.”
