An illegal connection point where Nigeria’s Crude Oil is stolen from Shell Export trunk line has been uncovered in Ogulagha community in Burutu Local Government Area of Delta state.
Personnel of Tantita Security, working with the Nigerian Navy and locals, made the discovery of where they say crude oil has been tapped unnoticed, for more than a year.
The 48-inch Trans Forcados Export Pipeline, which connects to the high sea where crude oil is loaded onto ships, was connected to the illegal 6-inch pipeline.
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It was linked to the primary intention of stealing 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.
Forcados Terminal which was built in 1971 is located about 65 kilometers West of Warri Town and has about ten crude storage tanks.
The Forcados Terminal, which was built in 1971, is located approximately 65 kilometers west of Warri Town and contains approximately ten crude storage tanks.
For quite some time, crude oil theft has had a negative impact on federal government revenue, denying the country much-needed funds to boost economic development.
Nigeria lost $1 billion in revenue in the first quarter of this year due to crude oil theft and production shutdowns caused by pipeline vandalism.
Experts have stated that it has become imperative for the government to adopt a holistic approach to addressing the crude oil revenue loss challenge given the daily loss of over 700,000 barrels of crude oil to theft, pipeline vandalism, and production shut-ins, caused by tapping crude oil from a maze of pipelines owned by oil majors.
Nigeria currently loses about $70 million per month to crude oil theft and production interruptions at an average crude oil price of $100 per barrel.
Over 90% of Nigeria’s foreign exchange earnings and about 70% of its government revenue come from the sale of crude oil.
The daily oil production had decreased from 1.8 million barrels per day in the previous three years to just a little bit over one million bpd due to the significant amount of oil losses brought on by crude theft.
Theft of crude oil and production shutdowns also lower refinery capacity, increase imports of petroleum products, give criminals the means to fund insurgencies and conflicts, cause environmental pollution, and result in the loss of lives and human resources.
Speaking during a tour of the facility where the illegal pipeline was connected, the Marine Intelligence Consultant to Tantita Security Services, Mr. Warredi Enisuoh, said the discovery was made because of the immense support from the NNPC.
He commended the leadership of the NNPC and the Federal Government for having the political will to bring the issue of crude oil theft to an end.
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