Working in partnership with Tantita Security Services Ltd, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has again recorded another major breakthrough in its fight against crude oil thieves, with the interception of trucks and the discovery of a depot used in stealing crude oil in Nigeria.
The discovery was made on Friday by operatives of Tantita Security Services while security the Assets belonging to the NNPC located in Warri, Delta State.
The discovery of the illegal movement of Nigeria’s crude was made following intelligence reports received two weeks ago by Tantita Security Services Nigeria Ltd and Mason Engineering indicated that the location was being used for activities outside its approval limits.
The operation saw the arrest of four crude oil thieves who were discovered to have been hiding under the guise of sewage transportation to steal crude oil.
The vessel identified as FP Amangwu used by the crude oil thieves was also destroyed by a joint team of government security agencies.
It was learnt that Mawe Services Limited had an approval from the Nigerian Midstream and
Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to provide services within the confines of lifting sludge
However, intelligence reports indicated that the location was being used for activities outside its approval limits.
Further intelligence also revealed that a 1,000 metric ton capacity barge was coming to berth alongside its jetty, loaded with illegal Crude Oil declared as sludge.
Speaking during a tour of the facility, the Executive Director, Operations and Technical Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited, Captain Warredi Enisuoh said said the Barge was towed by an unknown Tugboat into Mawe Services Limited’s Jetty and left.
According to him, a team of Tantita Security Services Operatives continued to monitor the Jetty for suspicious activities.
He said during the surveillance, it was observed that a Sewage Truck with Plate No. JR7750XA visited the Jetty twice.
During its third visit on 12th May 2023, Enisuoh explained that the Truck was accosted by the Tantita Security Operatives keeping constant vigil over the area.
He said, “Upon inspection, the substance found inside the tank was not sewage, rather, Crude Oil. The driver was arrested and handed over to Government Security Operatives.
“The driver later revealed the destination of the contents, which took us to another yard inland, also operated by Mawe Services Limited.
Within the Mawe Services Limited’s premises, there were two metallic cylindrical tanks of about 45,000 liters capacity, each. Both tanks were inspected and one was found to be filled up with Crude Oil.”
He explained further that the Driver of the Truck confirmed that he has been transferring the contents of the barge into the tank that was filled.
“An inspection of the Yard Security Logbook showed that the Truck visited the location severally and the contents of the Truck were well spelt out as ‘crude,” he added.
He added based on the operation of the crude oil thieves, the stolen crude oil would will be stored at a barge and then transferred to illegal refineries with smaller vehicles for processing into petrol and diesel.
This discovery is the latest in the series of disturbing findings that the NNPC’s Private Security Contractors have recently reported.
On October 6 2022, operatives of Tantita Security laid ambush to a suspected oil syndicate, and apprehended the captain and seven other crew members.
The arrest was made while the criminals were pumping crude oil from an illegal connection which they had fixed to a Chevron pipeline in the Warri River.
One week later, another illegal oil pipeline was uncovered which was used by criminals to steal crude oil from Forcados Terminal in Delta State.
The illegal pipeline was located in Okuntu Community which is a few metres away from the Forcados crude oil export terminal
The illegal 6 inch pipeline was connected to the 48 inch Trans Forcados Export Pipeline connecting the high sea where crude oil is being loaded into vessels.
It was connected with the primary intention to steal crude oil from the main pipeline operated by Shell Petroleum Development Company and Agip.
The distance from where the illegal pipeline was connected and where it was being used to load stolen crude oil into the ship is between five to six kilometers.
So far, Tantita Security Services working in collaboration with NNPC has discovered over 60 illegal connections to the trans-Escravos, trans-Forcados, and other major trunk lines by oil bunkers in Delta and Bayelsa states.
The Chairman of Heirs Holding Ltd had on Wednesday during the NNPC Upstream Investment Management Services (NUIMS) 2023 Annual Value Assurance Review (AVAR) in Lagos lauded the NNPC for the effort it is making in curbing crude oil theft.
According to Elumelu, due to the efforts of the NNPC Ltd, Heirs Oil & Gas has witnessed 96 per cent recovery rate.
Elumelu said, “When I listened to the Group CEO speak today (Wednesday), talking about us moving to 2.5 million barrels we challenge him to do more. I believe that it is achievable. From losing 97 per cent of our 50,000 barrels production, interestingly and it will be bad of me to have this platform and not share this here.
“That day, I got a call from the GCEO and I thought he was going to kill me for speaking up, to my greatest surprise, he said to me Tony we are sorry about what is happening, we are doing something about it, it will be corrected.
“They worked as a team and the Board of the NNPC, the FG, the security agencies, and last month our recovery factor was 96 per cent. So GCEO NNPC, you have delivered.
“I speak from experience, a beneficiary and one who cried out before and today standing up today to say we have improved our production and that is what we need to encourage more investments in the industry.”
He added, “Today (Wednesday), we lifted 501,000 barrels of oil bringing our total lifting this year alone to 2.6m barrels of oil. I am a great beneficiary of the new NNPCL.
The NNPC Ltd Group Chief Executive Officer, Mallam Mele Kyari had last year while speaking during a summit organised by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria two weeks ago said that through the support provided by the federal government, the country is making huge success in the fight against crude oil thieves and pipeline vandals.
He had said the activities of vandals, if left unchecked, would destroy the oil and gas industry and ultimately frustrate the NNPC’s mandate of guaranteeing energy security for Nigerians.
He had said, “The government security agencies in partnership with NNPC and other companies are on the table today because if we don’t arrest pipeline vandalism, we will have no industry.
“And more than anything else, it will completely question any possibility of energy security for our country. For NNPC, we are by law required to be the guarantor of energy security for this country. This is very broad, very tough and very demanding. It means that we must supply energy to this country in all its forms.
“And until we arrest the current situation of theft and vandals action, it’s very difficult to take the next step. I am glad to share with you today that monumental progress have been achieved and I can tell you that in the next couple of days maximum a week, our pipelines assets will come back on stream.
“This will no doubt provide the resources that we need to go back to work to reinvest and also provide resources for our country so that other infrastructure development in our country can be delivered.”
Kyari called for the support of all stakeholders in the oil and gas industry to stop the issue of crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism.
For those involved in this criminality, the NNPC Boss had promised that no one arrested will go unpunished.
Kyari added, “This is clearly an area that requires all of us. And whoever, anywhere, whether in NNPC, regulators, security agencies or wherever you are and whoever you are working for, as long as we know such people, please report at the portal because it is the enemy of all of us.
“Many of the connections that you have seen could not have been delivered except with the involvements of professional, it’s not possible. They are in our midst, the ones we know, we must put them on the table and that is what we are doing. We will spare no one in this action so that ultimately we can get back our assets.
“I am happy with the support we are getting from government security agencies and it is working. Also the involvements of private security are working and it has helped us.
“Many of the discoveries we made today could not have been possible without local knowledge and supporting the people who have been used to do so much and are used by criminals to do some of these things with very little things that they give them. Now, they are involved in protecting these assets and we are proud of these interventions.”
Source: THE WHISTLER
