- Says nothing can dampen the morale of personnel involved in anti-oil theft operations
The Nigerian Navy has decried the campaign of calumny against it by “mischief makers” over its relentless pursuit to end crude oil theft in the Niger Delta, saying it would not in any way affect its resolve to ensure the success of several strategic initiatives such as the Presidential Crude Oil Barging Regime.
The Navy also said that in the last four years, it has confiscated over 8.1 million barrels of stolen crude oil, 86,500 MT of illegally refined AGO, 788,312 litres of illegally sourced PMS and about 21 million litres of Kerosene.
Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla, said on Monday November 25, 2024 at the International Press Conference to herald the 8th Edition of Heads of Navies/Coastguards Symposium at Naval Headquarters, Abuja that its operational activities have greatly curbed oil theft and this has led to a significant increase in Nigeria’s daily crude oil production output from 1.23 million barrels in October 2022 to 1.8 million barrels in October 2024 as revealed by the NUPRC.
He said other arrests include 120 barges, 181 speed boats, 1,453 wooden boats laden with stolen products as well as 118 vehicles conveying stolen petroleum products. During the period, the Nigerian Navy deactivated over 1,528 illegal refining sites and 8,790 storage tanks, and arrested 392 suspected oil thieves.
Admiral Ogalla, represented by Chief of Training and Operations (CTOPS) Navy, Rear Admiral Olusegun Ferreira, however regretted that “despite these sterling performances, there have been misrepresentations in certain quarters aimed at tarnishing the image of the Nigerian Navy. These misrepresentations are peddled by mischief makers whose freedom of action in oil theft were severely degraded by the Nigerian Navy.”
The CNS listed campaign by “mischief makers” to include those involving alleged “crude oil theft on MT PRAISEL in August 2023 at Escravos in which the Navy was alleged to have been involved was proven to be false. Similarly, on 3 May 2024, another false allegation led to the disruption of the operations of MT PRESTIGIOUS and MT MONTAGU involved in the Presidential Crude Oil Barging Operations at Bonny. These disruptions resulted in the loss of over 1.2 million barrels of crude oil with attendant reduction in revenues during the period of their arrest between 4 – 16 May 2024.
“Also, on 7 Nov 24 based on credible intelligence, a barge suspected to be involved in oil theft was arrested in Warri by Nigerian Navy personnel. Also, on 10 Nov 24, MT LADY MARTINA conveying HPFO to MT JASMINE S involved in Presidential Crude Oil Barging Operations at Bonny was alleged to have stolen crude oil. The Nigerian Navy conducted series of test which confirmed the product onboard to be HPFO as approved by regulatory authorities. These false accusations were not backed by evidences, but primarily designed to tarnish the image of the Nigerian Navy and dampen the morale of personnel involved in anti-oil theft operations.
“In addition, the perpetrators of these false alarms inflict unwarranted disruptions in legitimate business in the oil industry. This is detrimental to the ease of doing business in Nigeria oil sector and negates Mr Presidents desire to increase investment in the oil industry.”
But Admiral Ogalla noted that the unrelenting and positive outcome of the Navy’s anti-crude oil operations is evident in the Trans-Forcados and Trans-Niger pipelines which have continued to report about 100 per cent terminal factor in the past few months. This, he attributed to the execution of measures to address the scourge of oil theft which include intelligence-led patrols, robust Maritime Domain Awareness and the Choke Point Management and Control regime involving the deployment of Naval Security Stations at strategic chokepoints within the creeks to deny oil thieves freedom of action.
He also stated that in 2022, the Nigerian Navy succeeded in eradicating piracy in Nigerian waters, and Nigeria was de-listed from the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) List of piracy prone countries.
The CNS announced the Nigerian Navy’s the 2024 Symposium of the Heads of Navies of Gulf of Guinea countries, to be hosted by the Nigerian Navy in partnership with the European Union and the French Navy.
The event, scheduled for November 26–28, 2024 at the Transcorp Hilton Abuja, has as theme “Maritime Security and Sustainable Development in the Gulf of Guinea” and is aimed as a platform to promote maritime security in the region and strengthening cooperation for effective maritime law enforcement.
The Symposium will also provide a platform for practitioners to coalesce ideas on maritime security while deepening the implementation of the Yaoundé Code of Conduct.
The event will feature Strategic Sessions on Regional and International Cooperation for Maritime Security, Maritime Domain Awareness and Information Sharing as well as Legal and Regulatory Framework for Maritime Security Operations. Heads of Navies of Gulf of Guinea countries and representatives of regional and International organisations will participate in the 3-day event.