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Oil theft: FG to leverage surveillance technology

By BusinessNews Staff on December 29, 2013

There are strong indications that the Federal Government will be leveraging contemporary surveillance technologies to check the increasing menace of oil theft and pipeline vandalism in the country.

It is expected that this will involve the deployment of Information Communications Technology gadgets to checkmate the menace.

Facts emerging from the 2013 Review of Operations brief by Joint Task Force, also showed that the Federal Government would be implementing this line of action using the JTF to a large extent.

The JTF, had earlier, called for the adoption of international best practice in the surveillance of oil and pipelines in the country, stressing that installation of sensors in the pipeline network would instantly send signals once any sabotage attempt was made.

It had also urged oil firms operating in the country to embrace the technology to complement the efforts of the JTF in safeguarding oil and gas installations.

Meanwhile, the Federal Government had also embarked on all-encompassing war against the menace, which is costing the nation over N960bn ($6bn) annually. This became imperative following the clamour by stakeholders in the Nigerian petroleum industry over high rate of crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism in the country, The Federal Government had earlier warned foreign countries to desist from buying illegal crude oil from Nigeria. All these were targeted at putting a stop on the oil theft, which it said was undermining its efforts at delivering on its transformation programmes.

The Vice President, Namadi Sambo, while receiving an audience of a top level delegation from the United States Government, led by the Assistant Secretary of Defence, Ms. Sharon Burke, had described oil theft as a gross criminal act.

Sambo, who pointed out that the crude oil theft had made Nigeria to lose huge resources, which could have easily been used in developing schools, putting in energy and many other transformation programmes that would impact positively on the people, sought the support and partnership of the United States and other members of the international community to tackle the menace.

He disclosed that the Federal Government had put in place stringent measures to bring the nuisance to an end, revealing that the Federal Executive Council had already approved the development of a special laboratory for forensic on oil products in Nigeria, which would assist in tackling the problem squarely.

The United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. James Entwistle, had admitted that the delegation came to the country in response to a request made by President Goodluck Jonathan to President Barack Obama for assistance to tackle crude oil theft.

“We are not arrogant to think that as Americans, we can just come here and solve a problem on behalf of your country. But what we are trying to do in this delegation is to listen and learn so that we can understand Nigeria and this oil theft problem.”

[Punch]

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