Page 9 - AfrOil Week 13 2022

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Map of Nigeria’s coastal oil pipelines and terminals (Image: Theodora.com)

NUPRC: Bonny, Forcados, Brass River

networks are main targets of oil thieves

NIGERIA THE Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory become a very worrisome one to the nation, to
Commission (NUPRC) has identified the pipe- the government and I believe to you as investors
line networks serving the Bonny, Forcados and in OPTS and IPPG, even as it is to us as your
Brass River terminals as the biggest sources of regulators. So, this is for us to sit at a roundtable
crude oil theft in the country. and hear each other and share information.”
In a meeting with representatives of the Inde- He continued: “More worrisome is that in
pendent Petroleum Producers Group (IPPG) recent times, we have had conflicting positions
and the Oil Producers Trade Section (OPTS) on as to what is really happening in the upstream.
March 24, NUPRC officials said that these three As a responsible regulator, there’s need for us to
networks appeared to be particularly vulnera- agree on the way forward and to hear your per-
ble because of the economic challenges facing spective. We need to have accurate figures. As a
host communities and some investors’ failure to government, we cannot continue to use abstract
engage adequately with residents. or inaccurate figures in a matter as important as
They also pointed to inadequate security crude oil theft.”
and surveillance arrangements, the exposure NUPRC representatives described the prob-
of infrastructure facilities and compromises by lem as very serious, saying that theft had pre-
stakeholders. vented Nigeria from producing enough oil to
Additionally, they said the available data meet its OPEC production quota in full.
indicated that Nigeria may have lost as much as Komolafe, for his part, noted that the short-
$3.27bn worth of crude oil to theft during the fall was actually causing harm to the Nigerian
13-month period between January 2021 and economy.
February 2022. This amounts to $233.99mn per “The concern of the government is to increase
month, or $7.72mn per day, they stated. our national oil production,” he said, according
to This Day. “Basically, we are an oil economy
Better numbers and when the upstream is sick, it affects the
Gbenga Komolafe, the CEO of NUPRC, fol- well-being and the health of the country. The
lowed the presentation of these numbers by situation that is happening in the upstream is
stressing that the commission’s information was getting to the level of threat to the existence and
incomplete. He asked IPPG, OPTS and their well-being of Nigeria. As a responsible regulator,
individual member companies to help com- we are very concerned about it. We have been
pile more accurate data on oil theft throughout doing a lot and we are not relenting. We will do
Nigeria. everything possible to increase oil production in
“This is a one-agenda meeting, and it centres a manner that will make the nation benefit from
on the issue of crude oil theft,” he was quoted the upward swing in the international price of
as saying by This Day. “The issue of oil theft has crude oil.”

Week 13 30•March•2022 www. NEWSBASE .com P9