Oil Companies Blame Host Communities for Vandalizing Pipelines

Oil Companies Blame Host Communities for Vandalizing Pipelines
Crude oil (Image credit: BusinessDay)

Nigerian oil firms have asserted that pipeline damage and oil theft in the region are the fault of host community members.

 

This claim was presented at a public hearing held in Abuja by the House of Representatives on pipeline damage, oil theft, and the effects these issues have on states that produce oil.

 

The businesses linked the damaging actions of vandals, especially among the host communities, to environmental contamination in the South-South region.

 

Vandalism is responsible for a large percentage of oil leaks, according to Philip Akuduro, Team Lead at Oando PLC.

 

According to Akuduro, a large number of the vandals are locals of the host communities and are increasingly implicated in the theft of crude oil through illicit links and damage to oil infrastructure.

 

He stated, “Oando data on Burutu in Southern Ijaw showed that members of the host communities were responsible for more than 90% of oil theft and pipeline vandalism.”

 

“These vandals are becoming more and more remorseful, but their ability to steal from the Commonwealth is limitless.”

 

“They sabotage the efforts of oil companies to minimise incidences of spillages in their areas.”

 

“Our operations covering largely onshore and marshy areas are easily accessible to vandals whose activities result in spillage and pollution of the environment as oil spills are swiftly spread by the strong underwater current,”

 

The chief operating officer of the petroleum company Aieto Group, Mr. Ewarezi Useh, also blamed vandals for the drop in crude oil production.

 

Useh underlined that one of the most important ways to address the issue is for oil corporations and their host communities to have a cordial relationship.

 

He went on to say that the security agencies’ combined efforts have been successful and that crude oil output is now starting to rebound.

 

The House Committee on Environment’s chairman, Rep. Julius Pondi (PDP-Delta), reiterated the committee’s dedication to identifying the sources of pollution and environmental deterioration associated with oil industry operations.

 

In order to confirm reports that Oando had cleaned up the oil leaks that impacted a few towns in May, Pondi said the committee had planned an oversight visit to the company’s operational locations in Delta State.

 

Nigerian Crude Oil Theft

 

According to the Ministry of Petroleum and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), theft costs the nation between 200,000 and 400,000 barrels of crude oil every day.

 

NNPCL’s Group Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Mele Kyari, recently told Channels Television that 8,684 sites – known as “boiling points” rather than genuine refineries – were deactivated since the campaign against illegal refineries started in 2022.

 

Additionally, he revealed that 5,913 of the 6,610 illicit pipeline links that were found were eliminated. The battle against oil theft is made more difficult by the fact that more than 1,000 illicit connections still exist and are being reconnected every day, according to Kyari.

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