Oil Theft: Petroleum Minister, NNPCL Boss Meet CDS Musa

Oil Theft: Petroleum Minister, NNPCL Boss Meet CDS Musa

Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, the minister of state for petroleum resources (oil), has urged the military to secure oil facilities from vandalism.

According to him, this is essential to increasing Nigeria’s crude production and ensuring energy stability.

Lokpobiri made the appeal after Christopher Musa, the chief of defence staff (CDS), led senior military officers on a courtesy visit to the NNPC Towers in Abuja, on Tuesday.

The minister said the meeting was aimed at discussing ways to curtail crude oil theft in order to boost the country’s production capacity.

“While discussing on advancing the protection of our oil facility installations and intensifying efforts against illegal crude oil bunkering, we examined strategies to sustain and enhance the existing measures, focusing on safeguarding these critical national assets,” he said.

Lokpobiri said cooperation is essential for maintaining national security as well as guaranteeing the smooth and constant flow of resources that power the economy, demonstrating a dedication to step up efforts and safeguard Nigeria’s energy future.

Similarly, Mele Kyari, group chief executive officer (GCEO) of Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Ltd, during the meeting called on the military to sustain the war against crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism.

“I personally call for enhanced and sustained security engagement. This is because we have reached a new peak in production that we haven’t seen in the last three years,” Kyari said.

“This is clearly related to the sustained efforts by the armed forces and other security agencies to protect our critical assets, particularly the pipeline infrastructure in specified areas where we are working closely with these agencies. We are already seeing the results transforming into increased production.”

Kyari commended Musa and his team for their unwavering dedication to securing the nation’s critical hydrocarbon assets, especially in the Niger Delta region in recent months.

He said these achievements are important to Nigeria and also the global energy community.

The GCEO expressed confidence that the CDS and his team would fulfil the president’s directive to lessen security-related challenges that impact the country’s crude oil output.

“Components of this effort that depend on security are being effectively managed by you.

“Your coordinated and focused response is paving the way for improved security engagement, particularly in the Niger Delta,” he said.

In his remarks, Musa said the visit was intended to acquaint the monitoring team with the NNPC, which would be responsible for interfacing with the company and other stakeholders in the oil-producing regions to secure the country’s critical hydrocarbon infrastructure.

While pledging dedication towards strengthening security, the CDS said the military would sustain the onslaught and assess the troops’ skills to increase their performance and bolster production.

He stressed the need to increase production for a prosperous economy and reassured collaboration with intelligence agencies, private security, state governments, and host communities for enhanced performance.

“Working in silos won’t give us the best results. I want to assure you that we will collaborate with the necessary stakeholders to achieve our set targets as mandated by Mr. President,” he said.