How Naval Personnel Aided Nigeria’s Oil Production Boost – CNS Ogalla
The Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla, has attributed the recent surge in nation’s oil production to the tireless efforts of his officers and men safeguarding oil-rich regions.
Ogalla disclosed this during a visit to officers and naval ratings at the Central Naval Command in Yenagoa, the capital of Bayelsa, on Tuesday.
He said that oil production which was 700,000 barrels per day increased to 1.7 million barrel per day, after his troops took over security duties in the areas.
His words, “when we started in 2023, precisely around June, we went to all the naval formations, assessed the situation and looked at what was the problem at that time the nation’s oil production was about 700,000 barrel per day.
“We needed to raise our game and we became more intelligent driven, in the sense that we made sure we involved the community and other agencies to get information.
“In doing so, many things were put in place. We impounded many vessels operating illegally, particularly on oil theft.
“We demobilized these vessels and these criminals started seeing their ventures as very costly and the likelihood of them being caught is always there.
“That is why they have been curtailing their activities in the last six months, increasing oil production.
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“This is what we have been doing and we are going to do more to increase our strategies. Why we are here today is to look at some of the areas we have to work on so that in 2024 we tend to increase oil-production capacity by another 50 percent,” he said.
He said that the service is determined to do more because the Navy has dedicated officers and ratings who are committed to doing their jobs.
“Some of them who have been identified, have been dealt with. We will continue to do that.
“I want to state that the environment we are operating in is a very complex one in the sense that the criminals have a lot of resources and reach they can employ to give a bad image to those who are fighting them.
“So, we are not surprised by their pushback and all the antics they have employed to give the Nigerian Navy a bad image.
“But as a professional organization and as people who are well trained, we will never be deterred.
“Our work will speak for us. We will continue to do our best, arrest these criminals, deal with them squarely in such a way they will know that whatever propaganda they use will not affect us,” he said.
The CNS urged officers and ratings to take their duty seriously as their morale is very high. Be ready to turn the tide against economic saboteurs in 2024.
On his part, the OPDS Commander, Rear Adm. Olusegun Ferreira, said all efforts are being made to protect the maritime environment of the Niger Delta region.
He said that the mandate of the OPDS is being achieved as they are doing all it takes to achieve their mandate of securing the national assets.
