The Group Managing Director of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Ltd (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, and the Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor, have vowed to unmask elements behind the illegal four-kilometre pipeline connected from Forcados terminal to the sea to siphon crude oil.
The duo made the vow on Friday during their joint visit to the illegal loading port which is attached to the Trans Escravos pipeline at Yokre Flow Station in Ogulagha oil field in Burutu Local Government Area of Delta State.
Kyari declared that an extensive investigation would be conducted into the illegal trunkline.
He said the pipeline was uncovered during a clampdown on crude oil theft in the past six weeks, vowing that the perpetrators would be identified and sanctioned according to the provisions of the law.
“Oil theft in the country has been going on for over 22 years, but the dimension and rate it assumed in recent times is unprecedented.
“That is why the Chief of Defence Staff has said very clearly that an extensive investigation will be conducted.
“Anyone involved in this matter, either from the host community, community contractors, government security agencies, or workers of the oil companies including NNPC and Shell.
“Anyone that is involved in this will be dealt with by the law.”
The duo noted that preliminary investigations into the crime have shown that the illegal pipeline led to an illegal loading point in the creeks where large volumes of crude oil are allegedly being diverted and stolen.
Speaking on the discovery, the Chief of Defence Staff declared, “This is an eye opener. We are going to ensure an extensive investigation into the whole revelation to get to the roots with a view to reviewing the entire security architecture across the board, among other issues.”
Kyari, on his part, added, “the illegal attachments on the Trans Escravos pipeline are professionally done and the end result is that they connected this to an inactive pipeline which should not carry crude in a normal instance.
“And we have seen that this line flow all the way parallel to the two other active Trans Escravos pipelines. And this is a good revelation.
“That is why the Chief of Defence Staff has said very clearly that an extensive investigation will be conducted.
“Anyone involved in this matter, either from the host community, community contractors, government security agencies, or workers of the oil companies including NNPC and Shell.
“Anyone that is involved in this will be dealt with by the law.
“We are presently getting massive support from the intervention of the government security agencies notably the Nigerian Navy, Nigerian Air Force, Nigerian Army, the NSCDC, etc as we have seen massive campaigns in this regard as coordinated by the Chief of Defence Staff. The intervention is really paying off.”
Meanwhile, Ijaw-born Chief Keston Pondi, who’s the Chief Executive of Tantita Security Services, owned by former militant, Government Ekpemupolo alias Tompolo, said from observations, the illegal business had been on for a very long time.
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“To get to this level is not easy. We were hinted about the two illegal attachments that were foiled.
“We are still escalating. We are combing this lineup to Ogidigben to Madaho.
“This particular one inspected by the NNPC CEO team is located at Yokre Flow Station.
“Only God knows how many more points we are going to see as we go further. As of this moment, we have discovered 15 points so far.
“The identified 15 points were attached to the Trans Escravos pipeline at different locations.
“It is obvious that a lot of people are complicit in these illegal oil activities.
“Whether it is in the security sector, host communities, even in the oil industry, if you know that you have been involved and nobody is doing anything about it, this is the time to evacuate.
“If you do not stop, the laws that are protecting the oil industry will come very strongly on you.
“Those involved are not unlikely to fight back. But we are not too scared of our people.
“We are more scared of people with guns that are involved in these activities than people without guns.
“Tompolo is 100 per cent committed to eradicating this menace of illegal oil theft and refining from the Niger Delta.
“One of the reasons is that it degrades our environment. It creates health hazards for our people.
“Another one is that with this kind of contract, we are going to have employment for our teeming youths. And it will greatly increase production in the oil industry.”
It will be recalled that Kyari, had, on Tuesday while appearing before the Senate’s joint committees on petroleum (upstream and downstream), and gas, hinted at the discovery of the illegal pipeline.
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