The nation’s crude oil production of 1.6 million barrels daily is expected to hit 2 million barrels by the end of the year, given the current full support of the Nigerian Navy, leading to a reduction in crude oil theft in the country.
The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, Mr Mele Kyari, disclosed this in Abuja on Tuesday at a meeting of Maritime Stakeholders convened by the Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla
The NNPCL, represented by the Managing Director, Pipeline NNPCL, Mr Folorunsho Karim, appreciated the support of the Nigerian Navy to the organisation and expressed optimism that the target would be met, all things being equal
According to him, “We are moving from the current 1.6 million barrels of daily production to 2 million barrels by the end of the year, and we are fully committed to doing that. I appreciated the effort and the support of the Nigerian Navy for making this possible because without them we wouldn’t be able to achieve this.
“So they have been giving us a lot of support and we’re seeing a reduction in oil theft. And the pipeline vandalism has also decreased significantly and a lot presently going on in the industry right now. And we hope that we will sustain this. We’ll be able to achieve our target of 2 million barrels per day towards the end of the year.”
He assured that, with the support of the Nigerian Navy and other relevant stakeholders, crude production will reach the targeted 2mbpd by year-end.
Speaking, the Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla, said that the meeting was convened to bring together industry regulators, maritime law enforcement, and industry players to discuss critical issues that are germane to maritime and energy security.
The Naval boss pointed out that the development of Nigeria’s sectors over the last few decades has witnessed several complex security challenges, such as violent agitations, oil theft, pipeline vandalism, and piracy and sea robbery, amongst others.
He explained that the menace was driven by the proliferation of small arms and light weapons, communal clashes, poverty, and unemployment.
He added that traditional means of addressing the security challenges have not yielded the desired result; hence, the meeting also aimed to address emerging security issues arising from the implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act.
He said the Federal Government’s drive to develop the nation’s blue economy required the support of all stakeholders, adding that the President had expressed a desire to enhance the ease of doing business within the maritime environment as well as the oil and gas sector in order to eradicate poverty.
He said the NN had sustained its maritime security operations through surveillance, response capability, and law enforcement, in addition to collaboration with all maritime stakeholders.
He added that the Navy rejigged its operations and established OP Delta Sanity in January this year, which led to the arrest of 35 ships involved in oil theft and handed them over to appropriate prosecuting agencies.
He assured everyone of the Nigerian Navy’s commitment to fulfilling its statutory roles in order to create a conducive maritime domain for the economic prosperity of our nation.
He said the Navy was working to ensure that its operations do not constitute obstacles to the operators but rather contribute to their being able to perform their duties and produce optimally.
According to him, “The provision of security is part of ways of increasing and promoting ease of doing business because if there is no security, the operators cannot operate.
“Also ensuring that our arrests and detentions do not impede legitimate business operators, we ensure that when we make arrests, we quickly carry out our preliminary investigation. And if it was based on wrong information, we quickly release those vessels so that we do not impede businesses. So generally, that is our own contribution.
“The way we feel that we can promote ease of doing business is by ensuring that our operations, our patrols, do not end up constituting problems for the operators. Rather, we should support them by giving them the assurance and the confidence that they are well protected from the criminal elements, who are always keen on disrupting businesses in Nigeria.”.
ALSO READ THESE TOP STORIES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
