Oil major, Shell’s Nigerian subsidiary will be starting an investigation over reports that an illegal oil tap ran for nine years on a pipeline it operates, a Spokesperson said on Wednesday 12th October 2022.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), alleges that the theft point started from the Trans Escravos pipeline and that the Afremo platform, operated by the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC), was the suspected exit point of the stolen crude.
“We are also conducting an investigation to establish where the theft lines end and whether there have been any breaches of the unmanned platform’s security barriers (locks etc.) or any unauthorized use of the equipment on it,” an SPDC spokesperson said in an email to Reuters.
As part of routine surveillance, SPDC said it had found illicit connections and will work with regulators to “establish the nature and condition” of the lines before disconnecting them.
The theft line discovery was cited by NNPC as proof that Nigeria’s coordinated interventions, including contracts with companies run by former militants to combat theft were paying off. Massive oil theft from Nigeria’s pipelines has ruined the nation’s economy, slowed exports, and prompted some businesses to shut down production. For the significantly oil-dependent Nigerian economy, THISDAY reported that crude production slumped to a new low of 937,766 barrels per day in September. Nigeria would be producing that low quantity of the commodity that accounts for the vast bulk of its foreign exchange earnings for the first time since 1990.
Nigeria has witnessed unprecedented oil theft under the Muhammadu Buhari administration, which has made it difficult for the country to meet its OPEC quota in the last one year. The latest discoveries on oil theft have evoked a consciousness from major oil companies to uncover more theft points. This will help in increasing Nigeria’s oil output and meeting her OPEC quota. It does not signify any change in the prices of AGO/MGO
Source: ThisDayLive, Oriental News
