Following the claim by the Nigeria National Petroleum Company, NNPC Limited that about 200,000 of crude oil is been stolen daily, the Chief of Naval Staff, CNS, Admiral Awwal Gambo has sought to disagree with the NNPC’s claim that it was near impossible for thieves to steal a such quantity of crude oil despite its deployment of its operational men across the maritime line. Accordingly, the NNPC and the Ministry of petroleum made the claim of the oil theft saying about 200,000 to 400,000 barrels of crude oil are being stolen every day.
While speaking to Channels Television as a guest, Admiral Gambo faulted the NNPC claim saying that the data claim for the oil theft might not have been for oil theft alone noting that they were mistakenly attributing/calculating losses due to force majeure and shut-ins as part of oil being stolen.
Admiral Gambo in his statement said, “As much as there is no perfect system, the phenomenon of oil theft and losses must be properly de-conflicted in order to proffer lasting solutions to the malaise which is currently bedeviling our economic resources.
He explained, “We need to understand the differences between oil thefts and of course, oil loss. While oil theft is siphoning oil from vandalized pipes into barges, oil losses occur when there is non-production, especially during shut-ins and force majeure as the federal government does not earn the desired revenue it should”.
Admiral further explained that oil losses sometimes result from metering errors on the operating platforms, while the volume of crude oil shut-ins from non-production is often added to oil theft data instead of accounting for them as oil losses by the authorities.
He revealed that most of these claims are outrageous and unrealistic as some of the sources claim about 20,000 to 200,000 barrels per day as being stolen.
Reiterating the claim, Admiral insisted that it was practically impossible to steal such a volume of oil as claimed by the NNPC, analyzing, he said, For instance, 100,000 barrels of crude oil is equivalent to 15,800,000 liters of crude, which requires a five-ton barge making 3,160 trips per day to convey this product out of the creeks.
The Admiral queried how one carries this volume of crude through the estuaries to the main vessel at the high sea for onward transportation out of the country.
He disclosed that this is not possible with the continued patrol of the maritime domain by his men and other sister agencies.
Recently concerned Nigerians were shocked by the NNPC's claim of such volume been stolen from the daily production of crude oil in the country wondering if the Navy were complicit in the theft game owing to the failure of the NNPC to meet up with the OPEC quota for Nigeria.
The Navy chief reiterated his commitment and his men to arrest any untoward development that may hinder optimum oil production in the country, noting that in the last few weeks his men have accosted some vessel that was attempting to load the product without proper documentation and approval.
Sighting example, he said one MT Arabia was arrested on 12th July who was trying to load liquefied gas without proper documentation.
Also arrested was MT Trinity Arrow, who also sneaked into the territorial water without approval but only got clearance to load on the 12th of July after they were cleared.
He added the latest was a supertanker, MT HEROIC, which is 336 meters long, and 60 meters wide, describing it as a very massive ship.
“Imagine the size of three football fields and 1/3 more. It has the capacity of carrying 3 million barrels”.
Meanwhile, he revealed that an effort is underway to ensure the handover of the super Tanker, MT Heroic for a proper investigation into his action and why it accuses the Nigerian Navy of being a sea pirate.
