At least 470,000 barrel per day crude oil valued at $700 million is lost to large scale crude oil theft, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The theft its said happens in some terminals where security challenges have impeded oil production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Group General Manager of National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPMS), Mr Bala Wunti, said the pipelines particularly those within Bonny terminal could not be operated due to the activities of criminals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said the number of barrels stolen is very huge on a daily basis explaining about 270 barrels that were supposed to be loaded in Bonny are no longer going to be loaded because of theft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wunti who was on tour of NNPC facilities said: \u201cIf you\u2019re producing 30,000 barrels a day, every month, you get 1,940 barrels. So what it means is that you can take it to 270 every four days, calculate it in a month; you will have seven cargos on a million barrels, that\u2019s seven million barrels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen you multiply seven million barrels by $100 that is $700 million lost per month, adding that about 150,000 barrels expected are differed, we are not producing due to security challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe Shell Petroleum Company (SPDC) trunk line, TNP transnational pipeline cannot be operated and this has been like this since March the 3rd that we put in this. Just take your calculator, 150,000, it means if you want to arrive at 1 million barrels per day, it means every week as a minimum, basically for one week alone, it\u2019s four cargo and four cargo is four million barrels. Four million barrels formula bar or $100 is $400 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSo you can do your calculations by yourself, take whatever price you want, take this to multiply by the number of days that have been shortened since March 3rd.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He added that the Forcados is not completely secure due to some challenges, but assured that they were addressing it, and in two weeks it may be fixed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBut we also have Brass about 100,000 barrels, which is operated by Agip and is also facing insecurity and vandalism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIllegal siphoning of crude oil from oil facilities by criminal individuals and groups, impacted negatively on revenue to all stakeholders, lamenting that the quantity of oil delivered into these federal oil terminals in the country has been limited by the activities of pipe vandals and organized crooks,\u201d he lamented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While noting that the impact of vandal activities caused low crude oil production, interrupted gas supply, countrywide interruption of distribution of petroleum products, refineries\u2019 downtimes, increasing instability in the oil and gas market, he said, \u201cNigeria will suffer for it; the revenues are impacted, so we can only appeal to them to rein in themselves, the oil theft situation is regrettable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not going on across the whole of the Niger Delta, there are trunk lines that are more impacted on, I think the Bonny trunk line ranks highest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOur major challenge as a country is our capability to respond and that is as a result of several factors, the terrain as well as some incapacity that we have.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the support of the technology in monitoring the illegal activities around the oil facilities in the creeds, he said, \u201cI was in the Saudi Arabia infrastructure twice, and I know what they have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a digital control system; it\u2019s different from our own. Digital control system, it\u2019s like you have the control system of all your assets in one place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is beyond the digital control system; it\u2019s also a security system and we are doing it and to tell you that this was built-in by our in-house software engineers because of the security sensitivities to it because they are customized, the moment you give to somebody who creates that. So we use a combination of technology to integrate and synchronize and create what we are now confident and comfortable with.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wunti explained that the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, former DPR, and then the regulatory commission issue what they call Bill of Quantity and they also handle vessel clearance and export permits while the Federal Ministry of Trade and Industry handles the issuance of export permits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe also relate with the Nigerian Customs Service which also helps with the export permit and to also clear all the vessels; and the Central Bank of Nigeria, processes all Nigerian Export Proceeds forms, Nigerian export supervision scheme. So, these are all the agencies we deal with, it\u2019s not an NNPC thing, we have to work through all these agencies before a ship can come in and sail,\u201d Wunti added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said the government agencies at the terminals to include: Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, former DPR and then the Regulatory Commission; the Nigerian Customs at the terminal, NNPC terminal representatives, pre-shipment inspection agents, the Nigerian Immigration officials, Nigerian Ports Authority and the Nigerian Port Health Authority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThen recently, the Navy wanted to be at the terminal. In fact, we are trying to deploy them anytime from now. They also want to be at the terminals to see what is going on, because a lot of back and forth has been going on in the recent past, blaming the Navy. So, they now said they want to be there to participate physically in what\u2019s going on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou can see what is happening, that it\u2019s not just an NNPC thing, it is all government agencies working together to make sure that each ship that comes at any point in time has all the clearances,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n