Chevron Nigeria Limited's (CNL) recent outcry that the purported Joint Task Force's (JTF) war against crude oil theft in the Niger Delta was not yielding impressive results seems an indication that the Federal Government, rather than containing illegal oil bunkerers and thieves, is losing the battle. The oil firm's observation that despite the efforts of the security agency to combat the menace, sharp practices associated with crude oil in the region was on the rise, is a vindication of the suspicion not quite long ago by Shell, one of the multinational oil companies operating in the Niger Delta, of possible connivance of the security operatives with local oil thieves in the reg
ion. Mr. Mutiu Sunmonu, the Managing Director of Shell had stated that his company was losing about 60,000 barrels of crude oil per month to oil thieves. Chevron, on the other hand, had said it was losing about 35,000 barrels per day because of the activities of oil thieves, especially to the operators of illegal refineries in Escravos. A surveillance team raised by the company has already identified 45 bunkering points in Escravos, Warri South West Local Government Area of Delta State, according to reports.
Contrary to JTF's claim that it had substantially reduced the menace, Chevron's General Manager in Escravos, Mr Jide Ajide, says its Escravos location has become a beehive of activities by operators of illegal refineries and pipeline vandals. "JTF has been here this year... I think more than 10 times. But if you go all around us here, you will see illegal refineries... they devised a new method of starting their operations at night... Between 2007 and 2008, they were stealing between 30,000 and 35,000 barrels of crude oil per day from our pipelines. It later came down with the assistance of security personnel, including the JTF. It was brought really down three years ago, but this year, it has gone up", he lamented.
It should be recalled that the FG had awarded N5.6 billion oil pipeline protection contracts (now expired) to former militant leaders in the region. Reports at the weekend, however, said the FG was negotiating a new contract with the ex-militants. Recent industry estimates indicate that the country loses $6.1bn (N965bn) annually to oil theft. The loss is thus competing with the N1.621 trillion voted as 2013 capital budget, for example.
Oil theft has been fingered as a major setback to oil revenue and by implication, budget implementation. Little wonder the FG is finding it rather difficult of late to pay monthly statutory allocations to states. Indeed, so notorious was the crime last year that The Economist magazine of London mocked Nigeria as "the world's capital for oil theft..."
In addition to multinational oil corporations, several credible organisations, including the media, had repeatedly drawn the attention of the government to the possible complicity of security forces in the worsening oil theft crisis. If the hands of the security agencies are as clean as they claim, why have oil thieves and illegal oil refiners become closedoor neighbours to Chevron in Escravos, despite the presence of the JTF in the area? Why is it that the more security operatives are deployed to contain the dangerous trend, the more it festers? Except the long suspected complicity of security operatives in oil theft is enjoying tacit official cover from the top, we see no reason the government has not mounted a high powered investigation to confirm the veracity or otherwise of the claim, instead of the recriminations being traded by oil companies and the security outfits.
Besides, on what basis is the FG negotiating the renewal of pipeline surveillance contracts with ex-Niger Delta militant leaders? For the excellent job they did or for the reported upsurge in oil theft? Has the FG taken the pains to determine whether or not the ex-militants are fanning the embers of oil theft to justify their being awarded yet another contract? The FG should ensure the ex-militants convincingly justify the billions of naira they collected for the expired pipeline protection contracts that exacerbated oil theft instead of reducing it, before wasting the nation's resources again on contracts that do not return value for money.
Instead of throwing money about, the FG should diligently find means to unravel the reasons responsible for the failure of designated security agencies to reduce or eliminate oil theft. It would seem government's commitment to halting the trend is non-existent as yet.
National Mirror