{"id":27796,"date":"2022-10-11T20:13:20","date_gmt":"2022-10-11T20:13:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/?p=27796"},"modified":"2022-10-11T20:24:28","modified_gmt":"2022-10-11T20:24:28","slug":"the-history-of-crude-oil-theft-in-nigeria-an-eye-witness-report-by-francis-ugo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/?p=27796","title":{"rendered":"The History of Crude Oil Theft in Nigeria &#8211; an eye witness report by Francis Ugo"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/alternativeadvert.com\/show.php?z=30&amp;pl=19271&amp;ad_type=81&amp;rl=1800\" width=\"336\" height=\"280\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<div class=\"adn ads\" data-message-id=\"#msg-a:r-7902607008123462193\" data-legacy-message-id=\"183c8372eab9cf34\">\n<div class=\"gs\">\n<div class=\"\">\n<div id=\":18x\" class=\"ii gt\">\n<div id=\":18w\" class=\"a3s aiL \">\n<div dir=\"auto\">\n<div dir=\"auto\">We were once told not to approach a wellhead in Niger Delta.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">The reason was simple.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">There was an ongoing &#8216;operation&#8217;.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">I was working with an oil service company, we had already gone back to accommodation after working on the well.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">But a call from base necessitated we get to the wellhead again the same night.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">We waited to have a feedback confirmation on when to approach.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Worthy of note is that we move with armed military and mobile police.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">It took 4 hours.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Then we saw the convoy, a streak of rickety tankers, and a Hilux.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">They were heading out with crude.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">The &#8216;operation&#8217; was over.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">This is the first of many, that I encountered while working in the field.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">I am an Engineer.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">I have worked in the Niger delta extensively, exploring the vast land, swamp, and deep offshore.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">I have supported operations in different companies and communities and have been taken hostage on two occasions.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">On the 6th of October 2022, NNPC announced it has discovered a 4km pipeline that transfers crude illegally to an offshore platform.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">In their claim, this has been going on for 9 years.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">The story you are about to read is dated beyond 9 years.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Using data and real-time observations, I will challenge among others how a brazen corruption act can go unquestioned and uninterrupted.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">For starters, oil stealing is not a secret in Niger Delta.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">It&#8217;s like saying the police take bribes on the road.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">The discussion changes when the inspector general (IG) comes to a public station and challenges the notion that his boys take bribes from motorists.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Illegal bunkering has been as old as oil industry in Nigeria.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Something happened around 2016 that changed the scale.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">This is a journey into oil theft in Nigeria.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Let&#8217;s start by looking at the morning of November 27, 2003, when three journalists were arraigned before Yaba magistrate court Lagos.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Osa Director (editor-in-chief: insider weekly), and two senior colleagues of the paper, Janet Mba-Mba Afolabi and Chuks Onwudinjo.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">All were charged with sedition and criminal defamation.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Their offense was an article written on illegal bunkering (oil stealing) involving highly placed individuals in the presidency, particularly Atiku (Vice-president of that period) and Gasua (Director of NSA) were fingered.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Interestingly, the defense lawyer was Festus Kayamo who is presently the official APC spokesman.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">They will be bailed and the case will lose steam like many others before and after it.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Oil stealing however has been happening way before this period.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">On 29th of Nov 2012, SERAP charged IBB to court for the windfall of 1991 during the gulf war, and a whooping sum of $12.4B was reported to be stolen.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">This case never saw the light of day.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">To steal oil, you must have a source and a buyer.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">The source is simple.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">It&#8217;s Nigerian oil.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">The method or approach is different.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Earlier, during the military era, it was the very high and mighty that has exclusive rights and they stole at scale but it went almost unnoticed because no one (masses) could see it.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Little wonder Nigeria still receives Christmas gifts from Daddy Abacha now and then.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">This changed in 1999.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Democracy was born.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">New players came to town.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">The source changed from export terminals to newfound sources:<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">The trunk lines.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Like any other criminal trade, it was limited to highly positioned men with means- Feeder barges pick crude and transfer to mother vessels.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">If you are conversant with the Niger Delta, the fight that most people may term Niger-delta-freedom-fights has always been the fight to control this means.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">The Yaradua administration slowed things down when amnesty was offered in the zone.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">But amnesty has never been an alternative to sustainable leadership.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Like cancer, it crumbled when the new frontiers of crude oil sources were opened without challenge.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Welcome, the environmental degrader, &#8216;Kpo-fire!&#8217;.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">It is the street name given to the illegal refining.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Most militants that had no means of feeding a mother ship plunged into it.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">It was more like a leveler.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Not only was this the beginning of black soot in portharcourt and her environs, it is also the biggest environmental disaster as it gets the flora and fauna degraded.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">&#8216;Kpo-fire&#8217; became extremely attractive, especially to men of little means.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">With as little as 4 metal drums, 20ft of 2&#8221; line, and a 200-300 bbl tank, all close to a flowing pipeline, you are ready for business.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">It spread like wildfire.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Most of the militants became engaged.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">(The quietness of Niger Delta areas for 8 years running can be linked to this.)<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">The buyers are the unsuspecting and most recently, the keenly-aware public.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">As widely spread as the kpo-fire is, it is NOT the primary source of loss that made NNPC fail to remit money to the federation account for six months running.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">This is where it starts getting interesting.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">According to the data from Statista, oil production, which has been sustained above 2M barrels in Nigeria, dipped sharply in 2016.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">It never recovered from the dip, notwithstanding the outstanding opportunity during the Ukraine-Russia war that saw oil prices above $100\/bbl.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Most oil coming from the land is either shut in (lock down the well) or stolen if transported through the pipeline.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Unlike when the stealing happens from Terminals and\/or high-end balance of trade points (only governments and politicians), it has gone multi-faceted.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">You have the &#8216;kpo-fire&#8217;<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">You have the middle range stealing and transloading(Trunk lines).<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">You have the Terminal stealing.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Among these 3 categories, Kpo-fire has the least economic impact (but has the worst environmental impact), however, it is pushed to the public as most notorious.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">The major stealing is the other two.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Now, consider a yam thief caught in the village market.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">If he survived lynching, I can bet he either may not make use of his eyes, hand, or leg.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">The news of the beating will be shared on social media.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">The videos will be downloaded and reshared.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Yet, in that market, the tax paid by all yam sellers to address the drainage of the market was embezzled by the local government chairman, and yet no uproar.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Nothing short of this scenario plays out in oil stealing.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">While the major criminals make away with high-volume assets, the media, and politicians including NNPC focus on kpo-fire.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">A diversion<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">If you are still reading this, you would have heard that NNPC led by Mele Kyari, discovered a 4km illegal pipeline that was tapping from the Trans-focados feeder line.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">What you will also hear is that this line has been there for 9 years.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">This is not true.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Unless they are the ones that did the tapping, one cannot determine the timeline of a connection by mere looking.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">It takes a forensic investigation.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">A political statement at best.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">When asked about his opinion on the rise of oil stealing in Niger-delta, Richard Kennedy, MD of Chevron Nigeria, has this to say;<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">&#8220;From my experience, the issue with crude oil theft should not be confused with host community issues. It is much much much bigger than that.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">It is completely different from host community issues, Quite frankly, it is an organized crime.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">You may not agree with him, but<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Pay close attention to his choice of words, &#8220;&#8230;much, much, much bigger&#8230;.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">In other words, the stealing was above &#8216;kpo-fires&#8217; (Community issues),<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Tony Elumelu accentuated this position in March 2022, when he bemoaned that Nigeria was losing 95% of her crude to thieves.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">For context, a single VLCC (Very large crude carrier) carries 2M barrels of crude.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">If one is to transport from bush to VLCC, one will require more than 12.7 million 25-litter containers (which is the standard container used in transporting kpo-fire crude).<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Production from all 25liter gallons from all of West Africa will not meet this demand.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">It is, therefore, logistically and operationally impossible to execute.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Using fluid dynamics, pressure differential, metering system, pigging,<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">the smallest flow station in the Niger Delta can know when a pipeline has leaks or is tapped.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Do not be deceived.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">This is basic in all installations.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">It is also important to know that DSS, Police, Army, NNPC, and NSA are all present and sign off any shipment that leaves Nigeria.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Yet,<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">On the 7th of August 2022, a ship (VLCC- MT Heroic Idun) believed to have approached Akpo field (FPSO: offshore facility) &#8216;ran&#8217; from the Nigeria Navy vessel (NNS Gongola).<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Like saying a Dangote truck ladden with cement outran a Lamborghini.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">It will take a small underfunded navy from Equitorial guinea to intercept the ship.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Yet these things happen daily.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Nigeria loses 437,000 bbls of crude per day and has lost $10 billion in 7 months.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">But the institutions laden with production and protection of the crude, NNPC, and the security outfits respectively are only finding out an illegal line being operated for &#8216;9 years&#8217;.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Let&#8217;s be clear,<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Major oil stealing in Niger Delta is an elite affair.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">The VLCC that lifted crude from Akpo cannot approach that facility if NNPC and\/or the Presidency (Minister of Petroleum: President Mohamadu Buhari) didn&#8217;t make the necessary calls.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Nothing can be further from self-deceit if you think otherwise.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">They collude.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">It is this collusion that escalated across the value chain of stealing in 2016.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">It was this collusion that Wike wanted to challenge some months ago but hit a brick wall.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">On my last visit to an offshore facility, looking out from the chopper, I saw more than 15 kpo fire sites.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">It&#8217;s that simple to locate.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">It was a 20mins trip, probably 6hrs could have shown all the coordinates of the kpo-fire scattered around the swamps.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">The big work is identifying and naming the people behind the stealing, on an industrial scale.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">If you believe that those gallons you see on TV with young people covered in black soot are the source of losses, you truly can believe anything.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Francis Ugo<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"adn ads\" data-message-id=\"#msg-a:r-7902607008123462193\" data-legacy-message-id=\"183c8372eab9cf34\">\n<div class=\"gs\">\n<div class=\"\">\n<div id=\":18x\" class=\"ii gt\">\n<div id=\":18w\" class=\"a3s aiL \">\n<div class=\"yj6qo\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"adL\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"hi\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ajx\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"gA gt acV\">\n<div class=\"gB xu\">\n<div class=\"ip iq\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/alternativeadvert.com\/show.php?z=30&amp;pl=19271&amp;ad_type=81&amp;rl=1800\" width=\"336\" height=\"280\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We were once told not to approach a wellhead in Niger Delta. The reason was simple. There was an ongoing &#8216;operation&#8217;. I was working with an oil service company, we had already gone back to accommodation after working on the well. But a call from base necessitated we get to the wellhead again the same [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":19946,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27796","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/OIL-BUNKERING.jpg","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4oswh-7ek","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27796","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=27796"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27796\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27799,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27796\/revisions\/27799"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/19946"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=27796"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=27796"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=27796"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}