THE Nigerian Army has been urged by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) to intensify the fight against crude oil theft across the country.
This charge was made as Nigeria has been losing hundreds of billions of naira to crude oil theft, such that between January and October this year, the country lost over N800b to oil theft, repairs of vandalised pipelines, among others.
In wake of the economic losses, the Chief Executive Officer, NUPRC, Gbenga Komolafe, solicited the support of Nigeria’s armed forces to tackle the menace of crude oil theft.
According to a statement issued by an official of the commission, Paul Osu, the plea was made by Komolafe during a recent courtesy visit to the Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor, in his office in Abuja.
Komolafe said the visit was part of his strategic engagements with critical stakeholders in the upstream sector considering the importance of the industry to Nigeria’s economy.
He told his host that the NUPRC was responsible for the technical, operational and commercial regulation of the upstream sector and was geared to optimise the benefits of the nation’s hydrocarbon resources.
He reiterated the critical role of the defense chief to the success of upstream investments in the oil and gas industry in Nigeria, and appealed for stakeholders’ collaboration and partnership to deal with all security issues affecting the industry.
In his response, Irabor assured Komolafe of the support of the armed forces in the fight against oil thieves.
He also expressed concern over the menace of oil theft and assured his guest that the armed forces were on top of the situation as current operational strategies were targeted at eliminating the incidences of oil theft.
Irabor further commended the NUPRC boss for the engagement strategy, adding that the interaction was significant, as he requested for detailed proposals that would ensure proper collaboration with all stakeholders.
