Crude Oil Theft, a Sophisticated International Operation – NNPCL GCEO Ojulari

Mr. Bashir Ojulari, the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, has highlighted the complexity of crude oil theft in Africa, attributing it to sophisticated international and continental gangs that exploit security vulnerabilities.

Speaking at the Africa Chief of Defence Staff Conference in Abuja on Monday, Ojulari noted that oil theft is a transnational issue requiring collaborative efforts to combat.

He said: “Crude theft and its attendant illegal activities are by no means a purely localised occurrence; rather, these operations involve specialised international syndicates that take advantage of gaps within the state, national and continental security architecture to conduct illegal activities.

“This highlights the need for cross-border collaboration to tackle the issue effectively.”

Ojulari reiterated that security plays a crucial role in achieving national, regional, and continental energy security goals.

He noted that crude theft and pipeline vandalism have become recurring issues in the oil-rich Niger Delta area of Nigeria, despite efforts by security agencies to combat them.

He added: “Security forms a key pillar of the energy business and therefore plays a very important and strategic role in achieving national, regional and continental energy security goals.”

The NNPCL boss acknowledged the progress made through collaboration within the energy space, saying, “We have seen the benefit of the collaboration within the energy space, with significant improvement in our operating environment.”