Oil theft has reduced Nigeria’s oil production to less than 1.5m barrels per day, says NNPC GMD, Mele Kyari

The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Ltd, Malam Mele Kyari, has expressed concern over Nigeria’s inability to increase crude oil production due to the activities of oil thieves.

According to the NNPC boss, the country’s crude oil production total is less than 1.5 million barrels per day occasioned by the worsening cases of large-scale oil theft and pipeline vandalism.

Kyari disclosed this at the 5th National Union of Petrol and Engineering and Gas (NUPENG) workers Quadrennial Delegates Conference in Asaba, Delta State, on Tuesday.

Speaking on the theme of the conference: “Just Energy Transition: For oil and gas workers social welfare and security”, he said there is a new collaboration by the NNPC with security agencies, host communities and all political leaders to arrest the situation.

He said: “Locally our industry is terribly challenged. We have seen vandal activities around our areas of operation, not just in the Niger Delta but other corridors of products supply, activities of oil thieves that have gotten to a limit that we haven’t seen before, almost bringing down this industry to its knees today.

“As we speak now our production total is less than 1.5 million barrels per day. This no doubt will affect the investing companies, they will not have the resources to continue to invest.

“This is why all of us must come together to see how we can contain this. There is so much going on now, and we are leading the process to ensure that we intervene in a secure manner including the involvement of communities and all the political leaders.

“Everybody must be involved so that ultimately we will be able to get back this industry, otherwise this industry will collapse in our hands, and if it does we will not be talking about employment, and this will be the reality we are facing today.

“What is happening now is not sustainable, it will crash if we don’t do something about it. I’m sure the leadership of NUPENG will see this and work with us. Needless to say, we are partners with NUPENG, and other partners in the industry.”

“NNPC is here to protect and preserve every institution that is helping this industry to grow and survive.”

Persecondnews.com reports that the event was attended by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige; the Deputy Governor of Edo State, Mr Philip Shaibu; and the Group Executive Director (Upstream), NNPC Ltd, Engr. Adokiye Tombomieye and other senior government officials.