…Adopts New Monitor App for Oil Thieves
The Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), Mr. Mele Kyari has confessed that Nigeria loses no fewer than 200,000 barrels of crude oil per day, amounting to annual loss of revenue of about $4billion.
According to Kyari, this year alone Nigeria has lost $1.5billion due to escalation of pipeline vandalism and oil theft at the Bonny Terminal in Rivers State.
Speaking last Friday in Abuja, during the signing of renewed production contracts between the Nigeria National Petroleum Commission and its oil drilling partners, Kyari said pipeline vandals and oil thieves are in for some hard times as the country has adopted a monitor app capable of detecting pipeline tamper and crude oil theft.
He informed further that the new system contain a reward package for whistle blowers and any persons who provide vital information leading to the discovery and arrest of crude oil saboteurs.
He explained that the mobile platform was created basically for members of host communities in oil-rich regions to enable early reporting of incidents and spur immediate action from relevant security and government authorities.
The NNPC boss said the menace of oil theft and pipeline tampering has become of serious concern to the Nigerian government and people, hence the adoption of the new app.
During the event, the publisher of Africa Oil+Gas Report, Mr. Toyin Akinosho, said beyond launching an app, political will is also needed to check the menace of crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism in Nigeria.
“It’s very important that the state hydrocarbon company itself is announcing this [but] it’s not just a question about tracking, it’s actually how you deliver on ensuring that those incidents don’t happen again,” he said; adding that “There has to be the will power to deliver. That’s what I’m interested in.
“Whatever it is that we’re even building will take a bit of time. You can’t construct these pipelines that the government is talking about, you can’t deliver them in less than three, four years.”
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