By Kingsley Omose
There is one big mystery in the upstream oil and gas sector in Nigeria, and that is why no one is seriously stopping those behind Oil Bunkering in Nigeria. This is despite 9% of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product, over 80% of its total exports and foreign exchange earnings, and 65% of the government’s revenue (Federal, 36 States and FCT, and 774 Local Governments), coming from sale of oil.
Usually CBN, NUPRC, OPEC, NNPCL, FIRS, and even those actually engaged in the production of the crude oil itself, supposedly don’t know the quantity of daily crude oil production in Nigeria because just as fast as the crude oil is being produced, there are multiple taps and valves that those supposedly engaged in Oil Bunkering open and collect crude oil for their own private account.
What really is Oil Bunkering? Meta AI says Oil Bunkering is a form of THEFT that involves the ILLEGAL SIPHONING or DIVERSION of crude oil or refined petroleum products from pipeline, storage facilities, or vessels. The cheeky computer program goes on to add that Oil Bunkering is a significant problem in many parts of the world, including Nigeria, where oil is a major resource.
Meta AI highlights four main forms of Oil Bunkering. First is Pipeline tapping which is drilling into pipelines to steal crude oil or refined products. Second is Ship-to-ship transfers which is illegally transferring oil from one vessel to another. Then there is Storage tank siphoning which is stealing oil from storage tanks.
The last is Refinery sabotage which is tampering with refinery operations to steal oil. Our focus here will be Oil Bunkering in Nigeria through Pipeline tapping, which is the process where persons supposedly largely unknown steal Nigerian crude oil in the Niger Delta through drilling into pipelines and other oil infrastructure.
The Managing Director of Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, recently shared some insights on crude oil daily production in Nigeria that can help explain away this mystery of those really behind Oil Bunkering. The thing about Nigerian government officials is that there are always hidden meanings behind what they publicly utter.
Kingsley Omose, a Public Policy analyst, contributed this piece from Lagos
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