The Federal Authorities has adopted a digital technique of evacuation of crude oil that entails the utilisation of barges and vans for the transportation of crude from the purpose of manufacturing to injection/storage factors for eventual transportation to export terminals.
It mentioned the Different Crude Oil Evacuation Methods was carried out to keep away from manufacturing deferment, losses and different undesirable penalties because of pipeline disruption and outages.
That is contained in a brand new presentation by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Fee on “Stability within the Nigerian Power Sector: Built-in Methods for Infrastructure, Transportation and Safety,” obtained by our correspondent in Abuja on Sunday.
Nigeria loses trillions of naira to crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism yearly, a growth that made the federal government contemplate digital technique of transporting the commodity.
In October 2023, The PUNCH reported that the Senate ordered a complete probe into the actions of safety forces and organised teams using subtle methods to steal crude oil within the nation.
The report said that the choice was prompted by a movement put forth by Senator Ned Nwoko (PDP, Delta North), who reeled out knowledge on what Nigeria loses to pipeline vandalism and oil bunkering.
Nwoko had identified that Nigeria misplaced N2.3tn to grease theft in 2023 alone.
“In March 2023, Nigeria incurred a considerable lack of 65.7 million barrels of crude oil, valued at $83 per barrel, translating to a staggering income lack of N2.3tn because of oil theft,” the senator said.
To deal with this, the NUPRC mentioned the federal government needed to promote the Different Crude Oil Evacuation Methods by transporting the commodity by way of vans and barges as a substitute of pumping them by way of pipelines.
It said that by way of collaboration with trade stakeholders, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Fee had sustained its dedication in implementing focused initiatives and varied measures to fight vandalism and crude oil theft.
It mentioned, “By way of elevated surveillance and deployment of safety forces, the upstream trade has in latest instances more and more enhanced the safety of oil and gasoline infrastructure from legal syndicates who typically goal oil and gasoline installations to siphon off crude oil for unlawful sale.
“The actions of the syndicates has led to income losses for the federal government, oil corporations and different stakeholders, elevated value of manufacturing, in addition to far-reaching environmental penalties and demarketing of the nation’s world competitiveness.
“The fee has due to this fact promoted the implementation of Different Crude Oil Evacuation Methods to keep away from manufacturing deferment and losses and different undesirable penalties because of pipeline disruption and outages.
“This digital technique of evacuation primarily entails the utilisation of barges and vans for the transportation of crude oil from the purpose of manufacturing to injection/storage factors for eventual transportation to export terminals,” the fee said within the doc.
In keeping with the NUPRC, the ACOES gives a versatile and cost-effective crude oil transportation system for brand spanking new entrants into the trade, reminiscent of the brand new PPL (Petroleum Prospecting Licence) holders, throughout Prolonged Properly Check and early manufacturing phases.
It mentioned, “For the brand new entrants, the ACOES gives a short lived resolution for crude oil evacuation earlier than the institution of everlasting evacuation infrastructure, reminiscent of pipelines or export terminals.
“By way of correctly laid down regulatory necessities, allowing and approval processes, documentation, accounting of produced volumes, synergy with the Nigerian Navy and different related safety companies, the fee has ensured protected and secured barging and trucking operations within the upstream oil and gasoline trade.
“Certainly, lots of positive factors have been achieved by way of the choice evacuation programs. Essentially the most evident is the NCTL line which recorded as a lot as 90 per vent manufacturing loss final 12 months resulting from crue theft. In Q1 2024 alone, over three million barrels of crude was evacuated and exported by way of NCTL as a direct impression of correct deployment of the digital pipelines.”
The Nationwide Public Relations Officer, Impartial Petroleum Entrepreneurs Affiliation of Nigeria, Chief Ukadike Chinedu, recommended the federal government for arising with measures to deal with oil theft.
He famous that the income loss from oil theft was humongous, including that any measure being adopted to halt this could go a great distance in shoring up Nigeria’s earnings from crude oil.
“Nigeria earns a bulk of its international trade from the sale of crude oil, so it is vital for the federal government to proceed to provide you with methods to deal with the menace of oil theft and we encourage them on this,” he said.
