Mele Kyari while facing the senate committee also described the economic sabotage in Niger Delta as a “calamity“
By Kehinde Okeowo
The Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, Mele Kyari, has warned that the level of oil theft and vandalism in the Niger Delta region could frustrate the projections of the Federal Government.
He made this known in Abuja on Friday before the Senate Committee on Appropriation, where he described oil theft and vandalism in the area as a “calamity”.
According to Kyari, there are over 4,800 illegal connections on crude oil pipelines in the area, saying “what is happening is a colossal damage to the environment and the host communities”
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The NNPCL boss further pointed out that the daily oil production would depend greatly on the security situation in the Niger Delta but assured they are trying to restore sanity.
Speaking during the sitting, Mele Kyari, said: “The situation we have in Niger Delta in terms of security is a calamity. We don’t have that anywhere in the world. To engage non-state actors as a last resort is abnormal. But we have to respond abnormally.
“You have over 4,800 illegal connections on our pipelines. That means, within every kilometer, you have an insertion. Even if you seal all the insertions, you can’t get what you want in terms of production.
“In the Niger Delta, people are coming from all parts of the country to do illegal refining. That’s why we engage locals to deal with it.
“We will contain this challenge. We are doing everything possible to restore sanity. What is happening is a colossal damage to the environment and the host communities.”
