Nigeria has lost over 130 million
barrels of crude oil from January to November this year to the
activities of 32 militant groups in the Niger Delta region since the
resurgence of militancy in the oil-producing region in 2015, the
Vice-Chairman of the Security Subcommittee of the Oil Producers Trade
Section (OPTS) of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Mr.
Shina Bankole, has said.
This is coming as the Minister of State
for Petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, has stated that President Muhammadu
Buhari’s Petroleum Industry Roadmap, better known as the “7 Big Wins”,
will stabilise the region for oil and gas business.
Also, the former Minister of State for
Energy and the Amayanabo of Nembe Kingdom in Bayelsa State, Dr. Edmund
Daukoru, has called on the people of the Niger Delta to listen to
themselves and the outside world, adding that blowing up pipelines
amounted to cutting their nose to spite their face.
Speaking in Lagos yesterday at the 17th
Health Safety and Environment (HSE) Biennial Conference on the Oil and
Gas Industry in Nigeria organised by the Department of Petroleum
Resources (DPR), Bankole, who is also the General Manager in charge of
Security at Chevron Nigeria Limited, said insecurity in the Niger Delta
had led to the proliferation of several militant groups, as well as
small arms and weapons.
Bankole added that between January and
November, 58 incidents of sabotage were recorded where oil and gas
facilities belonging to the oil companies were vandalised.
“Again, within the same period, the rate
of sabotage on oil and gas assets has led to lost production
opportunities by the oil companies. As of today, more than 130 million
barrels of crude oil have been lost due to the inability of the oil
companies to produce as a result of the activities of the militants,” he
added.
He said with the rehabilitation of about
30,000 ex-agitators, the Amnesty Programme introduced in 2009 by the
federal government had successfully restored normalcy to the
oil-producing region until 2015 when new militant groups began to
emerge.
“The resurgence of militancy since 2015
has led to the proliferation of militant groups. As of today, no fewer
than 32 of such groups have emerged in the Niger Delta – some with
possible ethnic agenda, while others came with a criminal agenda,” he
said.
Bankole disclosed that of the over 275
cases of kidnappings recorded across 29 states between January and
November, 45 cases were related to oil and gas industry personnel and
their dependants.
According to him, of the 99 incidents of
sea robberies and pirates recorded within the same period, 19 cases
involved the oil and gas industry.
In his keynote address, Kachikwu said
the insecurity in the Niger Delta had raised the cost of security by six
times over the past 10 years, adding that the entire ecosystem of Niger
Delta was under threat as a result of the oil spills caused by
vandalism of facilities by militants.
“In the last couple of weeks, the
Ministry of Petroleum has launched the 7 Big Wins. The first of the Big
Wins is getting the Niger Delta stabilised through engagement,
empowerment and enforcement. The other aspect of the Big Wins is
righting the wrongs through remediation and education,” Kachikwu, who
was represented by his Senior Technical Adviser on Fiscal and Regulatory
Matters, Dr. Tim Okon, said.
In his speech, Daukoru, who was one of
the discussants, noted that one of the problems facing the Niger Delta
was that nobody wants to listen.
“Everybody wants to speak; everybody
wants to come forward with a solution. We are not listening to
ourselves; we are not listening to the outside world,” he said.
Daukoru said the Niger Delta should listen to themselves and the outside world and channel their grievances properly.
He reminded the agitators that the oil
and gas facilities being blown up do not belong to only the federal
government but to the entire federation, which includes states and local
government areas.
In his welcome address, the Director of
DPR, Mr. Modecai Ladan, said the oil and gas industry had witnessed
increased activities in the past decade due to the federal government’s
policy and action plan to increase daily production to four million
barrels and national reserves to 40 billion barrels by 2020.
He however said with the recent upsurge in militancy, crude oil production and revenue had dropped considerably.
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