There are strong indications that the current
spate of pipeline vandalism and crude oil theft
was fueled by the refusal by the federal
government and Nigerian National Petroleum
Corporation (NNPC) to implement expert
recommendations on pipeline surveillance and
security, THISDAY has learnt.
THISDAY gathered from sources within the
NNPC that both the oilfield services giant,
Schlumberger and the Nuhu Ribadu-led
committee had in 2010 and 2012, respectively,
made far-reaching recommendations to the
Ministry of Petroleum Resources and NNPC on
the protection and surveillance of pipelines in
Nigeria as well as the adoption of metering at
oil well heads, flow stations and export
terminals.
It was however learnt that three years after
Schlumberger made its presentations on a
proposed pipeline surveillance system and
exactly one year after the Ribadu committee
submitted its report, the NNPC was yet to act
on these recommendations.
This development, it was learnt, has fueled
speculations that the federal government is
unserious in its campaign against pipeline
vandalism and crude oil theft.
Investigations revealed that Schlumberger had
in 2010 hosted a delegation from the NNPC,
Police, Nigerian Army, Navy and the Air Force
on an important phase of their investigation of
the various solutions for the protection of
pipelines in the country.
In a 12-page document obtained from the
NNPC by THISDAY, Schlumberger had
“suggested a two-phase approach to
demonstrate competence and capability of the
surveillance system, with an initial visit in
Southampton, United Kingdom, with the
second live viewing in Nigeria of an existing
qualification test application with Shell
Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) in
the Afam oil field.”
The phase one approach incorporates
technical presentations and technology
demonstrations on robust pipeline surveillance
and response solution.
Schlumberger had suggested that long-range
infrared close circuit television (CCTV)
installation for parameter monitoring would
provide additional surveillance on the
pipelines.
“Once an intruder is detected by the fibre optic
based Integriti System, the CCTV would be
used to verify and validate the type of
intrusion. This CCTV service would
significantly reduce response time and
potentially eliminate the need in certain
circumstances to dispatch personnel to the
site for a Level-1 reconnoiter and response to
the intrusion detected,” said Schlumberger in
its report submitted to NNPC.
Under the second phase of the programme,
Schlumberger was to install an Integriti
pipeline monitoring system at Shell’s Okoloma
Gas Plant in the Afam field in Rivers State to
detect leaks and activity in close proximity to
the pipeline, with a Command and Response
Centre set up in Schlumberger’s visualisation
centre in Port Harcourt.
The Command and Response Centre, it was
learnt, would identify threats; detect leaks and
intrusions, as well as determine the risk level
and provide Level-1 response.
THISDAY gathered that NNPC ignored this
recommendation despite the support given by
the NNPC team, which met with Schlumberger,
police, army, navy and air force.
With NNPC throwing away the
recommendations made in 2010,
Schlumberger in 2012 submitted a fresh
proposal on Pipeline Surveillance and Security
Services for Nigerian Pipeline Network to the
Ribadu committee.
Titled, “Opportunity Brief for the Petroleum
Revenue Task Force: Distributed Vibration
Sensing Systems”, the new proposal observed
that sustained vandalism and crude oil theft
had adversely affected the efficiency and
reliability of NNPC’s pipeline network in the
country.
In the report to the Ribadu committee, the oil
service provider said the pipeline surveillance
and security group of companies, comprising
a consortium of Tricontinental Oil Services
Limited, Group 4 Securities Limited (G4S),
Schlumberger Nigeria Limited and
Schlumberger Overseas Limited, offered to
provide pipeline security services to NNPC,
comprising automated surveillance/monitoring
and metering with a fully functional control
centre.
Yet this was ignored by the federal government
and the Ribadu report denigrated by
government functionaries that did not want to
see its recommendations implemented.
In its report, the Ribadu committee had noted
that the country loses about 250,000 barrels
per day of crude oil to theft and recommended
the full automation of Nigeria’s petroleum
industry, with a new metering and measuring
regimes.
The committee also recommended robust
pipeline surveillance and fingerprinting of
Nigerian oil to enable tracking.
According to the committee, fingerprinting can
be used to ascribe the status of “legal oil” to
oil that has been obtained and sold legally by
the federal government and the operators.
The Ribadu committee also recommended “a
deliberate policy that results in the ban from
the Nigerian market of corporations and
individuals that have either been found
culpable of receiving stolen oil from revenue
theft in the Nigerian petroleum industry or
insufficiency in providing information of its
participation (legal or otherwise) in petroleum
sector transactions.”
However, the federal government NNPC has
ignored all these recommendations, fueling
concerns that they are paying lip service to the
campaign against crude oil theft.
In a related incident, the Joint Task Force in
the Niger Delta, Operation Pulo Shielf, has
announced that it dismantled a militant camp
in Bakassi Local Government Area of Cross
River.
The force said yesterday that it also destroyed
59 illegal refineries, seized 4 vessels, and
arrested 7 suspects.
•A statement from the JTF’s Media
Coordinator, Onyema Nwachukwu, said several
arms were recovered from the camp.
•“During the clamp down, the troops recovered
24 x 7.62mm round cartons, five Browning
machine gun ammunition, three x 7.62mm
round special, and seven live cartridges. Other
items recovered from the camp include four
machine gun belts and one passport fibre boat
belonging to Inland Water Ways Agency,” the
JTF stated in the statement made available to
online news medium Premium Times.
According to Nwachukwu, the camp, known in
local parlance as “Efut Esighi” militant camp,
served as an operational base for pirates and
militants.
The task force also said its operatives
destroyed three illegal crude oil distillation
camps concealed in a forest at Agbede Village
and Egwua 2 general area of Etsako West and
Warri South West Local Government Areas of
Edo and Delta States respectively.
•The task force listed items used by the oil
pirates to include seven steel surface tanks,
seven locally-fabricated ovens used for
heating stolen crude oil, 235 metal drums, and
four dug-out pits containing stolen crude oil.
All the items were destroyed during the
operation.
•In a similar operation carried out in Bayelsa
and Rivers sectors of JTF, troops shut down
56 illegal crude oil distillation camps, the
spokesperson said.
•The troops destroyed 16 Cotonou boats, 22
pumping machines, one power generator, 25
zinc plates used for fabricating local crude oil
distiller, one welding machine, and 32 sawed
pipes used by oil thieves.
•The troops also impounded four metal barges
and a speedboat caught engaging in illegal oil
bunkering activities in the operation, which
took place from November 11 to 22.
•Nwachukwu further stated that seven
suspects were arrested for oil theft related
offences and are currently undergoing
preliminary investigations.
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