NNPCL vows to stop oil theft as production rises above 1.6m barrels per day
By Ogaga Ariemu
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited, NNPCL has reiterated commitment to end oil theft as production increased above 1.6 million barrels per day.
Nigerian NewsDirect reports this at an event on Tuesday chaired by the Vice President of Nigeria, Prof Yemi Osinbajo.
The VP together with Nigerian oil and gas industry stakeholders discussed ways to solve the challenges facing Nigerian oil sector.
It was also an opportunity to reflect on the progress recorded over the last twelve months following the introduction of the industry-wide security collaboration for the protection of hydrocarbon infrastructure.
The Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC, Mr Mele Kyari represented by the Company’s Chief Upstream Investment Officer, Bala Wunti highlighted that the rectangular approach comprising NNPC & Partners, Regulators, Government Security Operators and the Communities underpinned by the adoption of technology ensured the recovery of production from an all-time low of sub-one million barrels of crude oil production per day in July 2022, to the current production figure of 1.67 million barrels per day.
He added that implementation of the 3DR strategy [Detect, Deter, Destroy, and Recover], the establishment of the Central Command and Control Centre for effective monitoring and coordination, the launching of the Whistle-Blowers Portal and the Crude Oil Validation Portal, and the deployment of some of the best-in-class surveillance tools and technology have been a game changer in the fight against crude oil theft and vandalism.
Wunti stated that a key element of the collaboration has been the onboarding the Private Security Contractors from the host communities, which were hitherto isolated. Their in-depth knowledge of the terrain and modus operandi of the criminals have led to massive discoveries of illegal connections and interception of vessels ferrying stolen crude oil.
With the current sustained efforts, facilities that have been shut down have reopened, and injection of crude oil into major trunklines for evacuation to the terminals is being ramped up. Nigeria’s crude oil production output is steadily growing to hit the 1.8 million barrels per day OPEC quota.
This production growth implies significant economic benefits for the Country and all stakeholders.
The Nigerian oil and gas industry is poised to reposition itself for a sustainable growth trajectory as the efforts to rid Nigeria of the menace of crude oil theft continue to gain traction. A lot of work has gone into changing the narrative and bringing all the industry stakeholders together to confront a common enemy.
