NNPC claims oil theft in Africa driven by international criminal syndicates

Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), Bashir Ojulari, said that on Monday crude oil theft throughout Africa was driven by international criminal networks and highly organized continents that exploited security vulnerability.

Ojulari made a statement at the opening session of the African Head Staff Conference in Abuja,.

He stressed that the threat could not be seen as a pure domestic challenge but as a sophisticated transnational operation that requires a coordinated regional response.

“The theft and illegal activities that accompany it are not at all purely localized events,” he said. “

This operation involved special international syndicates that utilize gaps in state, national and continental security architecture to carry out illegal activities. “

The Head of NNPC noted that pipeline vandalism and oil theft in the Delta Niger Nigeria region had long been rooted, although the ongoing security intervention had reduced the scale of the problem. He underlined the centrality of security to the energy sector, describing it as the “main pillar of the energy business and therefore strategic components in achieving national, regional and continental energy security goals.”

Ojulari added that as the head of the largest national oil company in Africa, he had witnessed the positive impact of collaborative initiatives in the energy space, which, according to him, had caused a significant increase in the operating environment.