Nigeria reportedly loses over N9 billion to oil theft annually while over 5,000 youths in the Niger Delta are engaged in illegal oil deals. An Illegal Oil Refiner who simply identified as Madam Black recently spoke with newsmen about their activities in the region saying that her oil refining camp alone employs over 2,000 youths including about 51 graduates who earn approximately N20,000 daily.
“We have been in this trade for long because we seem abandoned by the Federal Government. We have drastically reduced unemployment, armed robbery and cultism in the region. My oil camp alone employs over 2,000 youths including 51 graduates who earn N20,000 daily. Others like wheel barrow pushers earn between N15,000 and N20,000 according to work done. We counsel some of them who reasoned and abandoned robbery, cultism and the likes.
“Our refined fuel is supplied to several filling stations in the Niger Delta Region; I can say about 85% of the filling stations get their supplies from us. We produce about 120 drums and often supply 50 trucks of oil daily.
“Those who burst the crude are different from those who refine. Sometimes, security personnel supply us the crude; ours is to refine. We also settle security agents. Some security officers even have oil camps too. Those who don’t want to settle them, they go after them and destroy their camps almost on a daily basis. This causes oil spills and pollution even more than the activities of the main oil companies.
“Sometimes, however, some security agents deployed reject settlement insisting on destroying the camps.
“We sell our refined products between N40 an N50 per litre. Sometimes they come from about 9pm and leave at about 1am.
“If Government can give us permit to refine, the level of pollution will be drastically reduce and we will maintain the environment,” she said.
