The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has announced that it detected and destroyed over 8,000 illegal refineries and 5,800 illegal oil pipeline connections within the past six months, marking a significant crackdown on oil theft and pipeline vandalism.
The Deputy Manager of NNPCL’s Command and Control Centre, Murtala Muhammad, made this disclosure during a stakeholder engagement event in Abuja over the weekend.
Muhammad emphasized that oil theft remains a serious threat to the nation’s oil production and economic stability. He identified the hotbed regions for these illegal activities as Bayelsa, Rivers, Imo, and Abia states.
“Over 8,000 illegal refineries and 5,800 illegal oil pipeline connections were detected and destroyed within the last six months,” Muhammad said.
He reiterated the company’s commitment to stamping out these illicit operations but highlighted that oil theft continues to be a complex challenge, requiring collective effort from all relevant parties.
The NNPCL’s Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Olufemi Soneye, also addressed stakeholders at the event, shedding light on the company’s strategy for boosting oil production. Soneye revealed that NNPCL aims to increase daily crude oil production from the current 1.7 million barrels to 3 million barrels per day. He stressed that achieving this goal hinges on the cooperation of multiple stakeholders, including the government, security agencies, privately owned oil companies, and local communities.
According to Soneye, recent directives from President Bola Tinubu to security agencies have already started yielding results, with daily oil production rising from 1.4 million barrels to 1.7 million barrels. This recovery follows a period when oil production had dipped to as low as 900,000 barrels per day due to rampant oil theft and vandalism.
Soneye attributed the improvement in production levels to a joint effort involving private security agencies and military forces, who have ramped up efforts to combat oil theft.
“The synergy between the government, security forces, and oil companies is crucial to maintaining the progress we’ve made,” Soneye stated.
He added that this collaborative approach could pave the way for optimal oil production levels of 2.5 to 3 million barrels per day.
