THE Federal Government has evolved fresh measures to curb the excesses of local and foreign racketeers in the oil industry.
In collaboration with a British university, the government has developed a fingerprinting device to identify crude oil from official sources in the country.
The device was developed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and Plymouth University of the United Kingdom.
It ensures that crude oil from Nigeria entering the international market is fingerprinted to determine the origin and characteristics of the product before buyers put prices in them.
NNPC Group Managing Director, Mr. Funso Kupolokun, told The Guardian after a recent meeting of the Gulf of Guinea Energy Security and Strategy (GGESS) at The Hague, The Netherlands, that when in place, any crude oil from Nigeria obtained through illegal sources would be detected and suspects promptly apprehended. He said that the strategy would go a long way to check crude oil theft from Nigeria.
Kupolokun, who is the presidential envoy to the GGESS, said the collaboration between Nigeria and the UK university was a major achievement by the regional body.
According to him, crude oil theft had dropped significantly in the country from about 100,000 barrels daily in 2004 to less than 20,000 barrels per day by June this year.
“There has also been a dip in crude oil loss from a high of 90,000 b/d in June 2004 to about 20,000b/d by June 2007 due to a step up of Naval activity in the Niger Delta”, he stated.
The NNPC boss said the activities of the GGESS include development and security of the Niger Delta and the Gulf of Guinea, adding that the group had succeeded:
in de-listing Nigeria from the list of non-co-operative countries in June last year; and
procurement of modern scanners for the Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and Kano airports to facilitate the detection of narcotics while the Swiss government provided some docuboxes for identifying fake passports.
The U.S. government, Kupolokun said, had supported Nigeria with sensors and other relevant equipment to enhance the country’s domain awareness capability.
Also, Nigeria, he stated, had been admitted into the Egmont Group at the last plenary session in Bermuda this year following satisfactory assessment of the implementation of Anti-Money Laundering regime.
“Whilst we have made significant progress in many areas, we are yet to make significant inroads into the supply of illegal small arms as there have been increases in the amount of illegal arms and ammunition in the Niger Delta region. The increasing conflict has severally constricted opportunities for development projects in the Niger Delta,” he stated.
Kupolokun reassured Nigeria’s partners in the oil and gas industry that President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua was fully committed to addressing in the most effective and constructive manner issues plaguing the social and economic development of the Niger Delta.
“Mr. President has himself engaged in direct discussions with the militia leadership in an effort to demonstrate not only his personal interest but also the commitment of the Nigerian government at the highest level to the pursuit of peace, stability and the improvement of the quality of life for the people of the Niger Delta,” he said.
Kupolokun stressed that in order to bring development to the oil-rich region, the government was convinced that sustainable development, engagement of the militia, economic empowerment of the people, GGESS and enthronement of law and order form the vital levers that must be deployed in conjunction with the relevant stakeholders.
The philosophy of the GGESS meeting, Kupolokun said, had been to present to all partners the current situation in the Niger Delta and government’s efforts to ensure law and order as well as intervene developmentally in the region.
To this effect, some international partners under the umbrella of GGESS have voluntarily offered assistance in the areas of capacity-building, equipment and material support or sponsor certain initiatives rather than being presented with a shopping list from Nigeria.
GGESS has four work groups to facilitate the execution of its projects. The groups are the Small Arms Control, Maritime Security, Money Laundering and Sustainable Development.
The Federal Government’s representative at the meeting and Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Alhaji Baba Gana Kingibe, had told the gathering that Nigeria was losing about $40 million daily through 500,000 barrels crude oil shut-in in the Niger Delta.
Kingibe also said that there were major cost escalations, ranging from 30 per cent to 40 per cent across some key upstream projects in the sector.
“Contractors now factor in their contract bids a’ Niger Delta Premium’ covering community expectations, kidnap risks, delays spread and higher insurance premiums for all projects in the region.