The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva has emphasized the need to revamp security architecture around oil and gas installations to combat disruption of production in the Niger Delta region. For this, the Minister said his Ministry in collaboration with key stakeholders is perfecting Legislation, Security, Surveillance, Community Engagement and Diplomacy as current containment strategies in measures that were not done before the current administration.
Chief Sylva disclosed these containment strategies against oil and gas production disruption in the Niger Delta region during a press briefing held on Thursday, 16th January, 2020 at the headquarters of his Ministry.
In identifying why crude theft persists, the Honourable Minister pointed out active market for stolen crude and products, weak measurement and surveillance mechanism, weak and inadequate sanctions, low cost and high incentive for theft, lack of infrastructural development in the Delta Region and lack of community inclusion and management.
Chief Sylva said his Ministry has perfected strategies to deal with all the identified anomalies. He identified deployment of technology for pro-active leak detection; community participation in the oil and gas assets; engaging the Petroleum Training Institute (PTI) in the training of unemployed youths in the Niger Delta region; encouraging modular refineries; continuous sensitization of the host communities (of oil and gas installations) as well as putting proper storage facilities in place. He said some of these strategies may not be new, but “what we are doing differently is in the measures in which we are doing them.”
The Honourable Minister further expressed his Ministry’s determination to revamp the security architecture around oil and gas facilities to contain criminality, just as he disclosed plans to increase supply of petroleum products to undeserved areas. He said that FG has resolved to take infrastructural development of the region very seriously with incentives for the host community by increasing their stake holding.
Chief Timipre Sylva said legislations against crude and products’ theft are weak, hence the resolve of the present administration to evolve strong sanctions against further theft. He said the Government has been mobilizing the global community, traders, refineries, regulators and international groups in a bid to identify thieves of Nigeria’s crude and products so that these can be given a serious fight.
Signed:
Kania Maliki
For: Head of Press,
Ministry of Petroleum Resources,
