Oil firm, Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL), on Tuesday told the House of Representatives Committee on Environment that Nigeria lost about $200 million to oil theft in the Niger Delta region last year.
General Manager of CNL, Lanre Kalejaiye, who said this during an interactive session between the company and members of the committee, pointed out that of the figure, Nigeria�s share of the loss was 60 per cent while oil firms bore the remaining 40 per cent.
But chairman of the committee, Duro Faseye, accused the company of not complying with the nation�s environment laws, especially in the area of cleaning up oil spillages.
The interactive session was sequel to a petition against CNL by the Ilaje/Ese Odo community in Ondo State over refusal by the firm to address the issue of oil spillage in the community.
Kalejaiye, who accompanied the CNL Managing Director,
Fred Nelson, and other officials to the session, said over the last six weeks alone, not less that 18,128bpd had been stolen.
He said five different points where pipelines have been breached were recently identified.
The general manager noted that cases of theft have monumental impact in the oil industry and called for government�s intervention because of the serious threats they pose to the operations of CNL.
Kalejaiye specifically called for the combating of the menace in the creeks and waterways of the Niger Delta and arresting of the foot soldiers.
However, Faseye said that CNL and other oil companies operating in the Niger Delta region have not been complying with the country�s environmental laws, adding that they do not take adequate step when spillages occur.
He said, �Most of you companies don�t normally follow the environmental laws of the country. You are always saying it is sabotage.
�Those people, Ilaje/Ese Odo people, have come to us. We have their petition here. If things are fine the way you put we wouldn�t be here.�
�All of you are culprits. You don�t do environmental audits. It is supposed to be done every four years while compliance is done quarterly. You people don�t
take steps at the right time.�
Feb202008