Startling revelations are coming up about the high level categories and personalities involved in the network of oil-thieving gangs, accomplices and logistics used for the economy-wrecking, international illegal business in Nigeria.
Amid the discoveries of multiple, offshore, illegal tapping on official Nigerian National Petroleum Company [NNPC] by combined security operatives, the Nigerian Navy has fingered international oil companies (IOCs) and multinational oil companies (MOCs) as syndicates in the crude oil theft ring in Nigeria’s Niger Delta region.
Navy said the IOCs and the MOCs deliberately allowed their local heads within their terminals open to enable crude oil thieves to tap into and load crude off the shore of the country.
Also Read: Nigeria: Navy Fingers IOCs in Multi-Billion Dollars Crude Oil Theft Ring
The Navy whose job it is to secure the country’s waters and coastal lines, including the oil facilities within the area, said the old oil heads were intentionally ignored or abandoned as economically viable assets, whereas it provided outlets through which oil thieves secured products they ship out of the country.
According to the Nigerian Navy, each time it alerted the OICs and MOCs of spillage from oil heads, their responses were usually very odd.
Speaking with some journalists during a tour of some creeks in the Niger Delta area, commander of the Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS), SOROH, Commodore Daniel Atakpa, informed that they noticed crude oil flowing endlessly from an oil well in Okaki, Bayelsa State, owned by Shell.
According to Atakpa, the management of Shell was informed about the flow of crude from the oil heads, but despite the information, the flow continued.
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“Seven months ago, we noticed that crude oil was flowing out from an oil head in Okaki. We notified the oil company that owns it, Shell oil company. Their response was shocking. They said they have not noticed it and that they are prioritising their operations. If you ask me, what kind of priority is that supposed to be? The navy can only do its part, let every other agency do theirs.
“As we speak crude oil is still flowing from the oil head and nothing seems to have been done to address the situation,” he said.
Commodore Atakpa said his command has intensified its patrol of creeks in an effort to clamp down on lingering, illegal crude oil cooking camps in the state, “When we arrived at the camp, we noticed that all the criminals had deserted the camps. But what we saw are white flags indicating a truce and that they are ready to allow the military in.
“We came in, levelled the whole area. What we would have done is to move in a swamp buggy to deactivate the entire area. But you can appreciate the distance. It is about three to four hours by speed boats, almost five hours.
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“It would require huge logistics, manpower and all other auxiliaries for such movement. But what we did about three weeks ago is to deactivate the camp. But as you can see, they have already started connecting those pipes. Before we leave we are going to deactivate them again.
“Like you saw in those dugout pits, crude oil was flowing into it and it has been flowing since. They heard us coming and that was why they abandoned the camp. Nobody can stop it except at the tapping point.
“The concerned oil company has been notified, but if they like they will stop and if they don’t they won’t,” the navy chief said.
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