The Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Bashir Ojulari, has declared that crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism especially in Nigeria’s oil-producing regions are now things of the past.
He attributed the success to the various interventions of the security agencies.
Speaking at the opening of the Africa Chief of Defence Staff Conference held in Abuja on Monday, Ojulari acknowledged that crude oil theft remains a widespread issue across the continent.
This, he noted, is driven by international and continental gangs that exploit security gaps to steal crude.
Before now, oil theft costs Nigeria many millions of dollars yearly; $23m was lost daily in 2022, and $1.43bn was lost in March 2023 alone, according to Senate estimates.
OjuLari said that the intervention of security agencies have been able to stop the amount of crude oil stolen in the country.
He said, “Crude theft and its attendant illegal activities are by no means a purely localised occurrence; rather, these operations involve specialised international syndicates that take advantage of gaps within the state, national and continental security architecture to conduct illegal activities.”
He emphasised that crude oil theft has international dimensions and requires a holistic, continent-wide response involving collaboration and synergy among military formations.
Despite this continental challenge, Ojulari noted that Nigeria has made significant strides in curbing the menace within its borders.
“The dilapidating impact of crude theft, low pipeline availability and attacks are issues that have become stories of the past for us,” he said.
“These have come from the immense and intentional efforts of our government agencies across the nation and, in particular, within the Niger Delta.”
He further revealed that the receipt of crude at Nigeria’s pipelines and terminals—which previously plummeted to as low as 20 to 30 percent—has now surged to nearly 100 percent, thanks to sustained support from security and intelligence agencies.
“Today, I can proudly report to you all that our pipelines and terminals’ receipt of crude oil… we are attaining close to 100 per cent due to the support of the security forces and the intelligence agencies,” Ojulari said. He also highlighted the importance of security in achieving national and continental energy security goals.
“Security forms a key pillar of the energy business and therefore plays a very important and strategic role in achieving national, regional and continental energy security goals,” he added.
Ojulari called for more strategic continental forums like the one in Abuja to foster deeper cooperation and enhance regional security structures.
Prominent personalities at the conference included the United Nations Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed; Nigeria’s Vice President, Kashim Shettima, who represented President Bola Tinubu; National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu; Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa; ECOWAS Commission President, Omar Touray; Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Mahamoud Youssouf; former UN ambassador, Ibrahim Gambari; and Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Zacch Adedeji.
