Posted by Since commercial quantities of crude oil were found in Oloibiri, Bayelsa State, the problem of oil theft has not been solved. Oil bunkering is still going on in the creeks of Delta State and Bayelsa State.
The Nigerian government has continued to worry about oil theft year after year.
Operatives of Tantita Security Services Limited (TSSL), a company owned by ex-militant leader Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo, have led a new attack against oil bunkering and vandalism in the Niger Delta region.
Tompolo recently told reporters that crude oil is being stolen from 58 illegal points in the states of Delta and Bayelsa.
But an expert told DAILY POST that the “renewed” crackdown on oil theft could be a way for the federal government to explain why it didn’t make as much money from oil during the time period under review.
The federal government said that crude oil thefts and vandalism in the Niger Delta region cost the country N1.3 trillion in the first three months of this year.
Another government number says that oil theft and vandalism cost the country over N304 billion every month.
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) found that the Bonny Terminal Network, the Forcados Terminal Network, and the Brass Terminal Network are where most oil thefts happen. The activities of stealing oil hurt the Nigerian economy in a lot of different ways.
Nigeria often doesn’t meet the oil production quotas set by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). This has led to a drop in revenue and damage to the environment.
In a conversation with DAILY POST on Friday, Charles Majomi, an oil and gas analyst, said that the amount of oil theft in the Niger Delta creeks can’t happen without the help of high-level government officials in Nigeria.
He said that if the government really wants to stop the problem, it should set up a thorough and open investigation by third parties who are not part of the government.
“It’s hard not to wonder why now. This terrible thing didn’t start today, and it’s been going on for a long time. So that could be. “On top of that, there don’t seem to be any real efforts going on to catch the people who did this,” Majomi said.
As a way out, he suggested, “A thorough and open investigation by third parties who are not part of the State apparatus.”
“If, as we’ve been told, this is a large-scale exercise involving many people from the security services, the NNPC, and International Oil Companies (IOCs), it doesn’t make much sense for the same people to be in charge of the investigation.