Nigeria Confiscates 20 Million Litres of Illegally Refined Diesel

Adedayo Osho, Abuja Bureau Chief

Unrelenting efforts to curb oil theft by security agencies of the Nigerian Federal Government led to the confiscation of over 20.2 million litres of illegally refined Automotive Gas, otherwise known as diesel.

The country's Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, disclosed this in the oil rich city of Port Harcourt, south-southern Nigeria, after carrying out an aerial survey of illegal refinery sites, as well as hotspots along the Nembe Creek Trunk Line and the Trans-Niger Pipelines’ right of way on Friday September 23rd, 2022.

Mohammed revealed over 210 suspects have been arrested in its efforts to combat crude oil theft in the Niger Delta region, stating that vandalslism and economic sabotage have severely impacted on crude oil production in Nigeria.

The Minister said over 461,000 litres of Premium Motor Spirit; 843,000 litres of Dual-Purpose Kerosene; and a total of 383,000 barrels of crude oil were respectively confiscated.

He confirmed an additional 365 illegal refining sites were destroyed, with about 1,054 refining ovens, 1,210 metal storage tanks, 838 dugout pits, and 346 reservoirs also destroyed.

"Since the post-covid pandemic recovery of crude oil prices, Nigeria has been unable to meet its OPEC Production quota, hurting the Nigerian economy.

"Due to the nefarious activities of vandals, Nigeria has been losing out on producing approximately 700,000 Barrels of oil daily. This volume is split between crude stolen and production deferment (shut-ins) due to legitimate fear of losing substantial volumes in transit.

"Terminal receipts have persistently declined, leading to decisions such as the Force Majure declared at the Bonny Oil and Gas Terminal in March 2022," the Minister disclosed.

Lai Mohammed also stated that NNPC Limited had set up a new security architecture to serve as a solid response to detect, deter, and respond to vandalism in the south-south.

He said the security architecture leveraged collaboration between the Upstream operators, Industry Regulators, Government Security Agencies, and Private Security Contractors.

The Minister also revealed that NNPC Limited's "Command and Control Centre" has been instituted for round-the-clock monitoring of petroleum operations and activities within the Nigerian Exclusive Economic Zone.

All vessel movements within the Nigerian Exclusive Economic Zone as well as all Ship-to-Ship activities within the same zone are now monitored.