September 12, (THEWILL) – The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has disclosed that it loses 470,000 barrels per day amounting to $700 million monthly, in addition to security challenges that hindered oil production in some terminals. It said the impact of crude oil theft has been affecting its performance.
This was even as it stated that security challenges have, in turn, affected oil production especially pipelines around the Bonny terminal.
The Group General Manager, National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), Bala Wunti, disclosed these during a tour of the NNPCL facilities.
Wunti said about 270 barrels that were supposed to be loaded in Bonny, were no longer feasible, due to theft.
“Illegal siphoning of crude oil from oil facilities by criminal individuals and groups, impacted negatively on the revenue to all stakeholders,” adding that the quantity of oil delivered to the federal oil terminals in the country has been limited by the activities of pipeline vandals.
“If you’re producing 30,000 barrels a day, every month, you get 1,940 barrels. So what it means is that you can take it to 270 every four days, calculate it in a month; you will have seven cargos on a million barrels, that’s seven million barrels.
“When you multiply seven million barrels by $100 that is $700 million lost per month,” adding that about 150,000 barrels expected are deferred, “we are not producing due to security challenges.
“The Shell Petroleum Company (SPDC) trunk line, TNP transnational pipeline cannot be operated, and this has been like this since March the 3rd.
Wunti said the Forcados oil export terminal is not completely secure due to some challenges, but assured that the corporation would fix the issues in two weeks.
He said the Brass oil export terminal, which is operated by Agip and produces about 100,000 barrels, is also facing insecurity and vandalism.
“Nigeria will suffer for it – the revenues are impacted, so we can only appeal to them to rein in themselves, the oil theft situation is regrettable. It’s not going on across the whole of the Niger Delta, there are more impacted trunk lines. I think the Bonny trunk line ranks highest. Aviation workers have said that they will begin demonstrations against unfavourable clauses in the Bills and Acts of aviation regulatory agencies.
“Our major challenge as a country is our capability to respond and that is as a result of several factors, the terrain, as well as some incapacity that we have”, he added.
On the use of technology to monitor illegal activities around the oil facilities in the creeks, he said, “I was in the Saudi Arabia infrastructure twice, and I know what they have. It is a digital control system; it’s different from our own. A digital control system, it’s like you have the control system of all your assets in one place.
“This is beyond the digital control system – it’s also a security system and we are doing it and to tell you that this was built-in by our in-house software engineers because of the security sensitivities to it because they are customised, the moment you give to somebody who creates that. So we use a combination of technology to integrate, synchronise, and create what we are now confident and comfortable with.”
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