Nigeria - 200,000 Barrels Of Crude Oil Lost Per Vessel Each Day

Facts emerged this week that Nigeria is losing 200,000 barrels of crude oil per vessel at the loading point as at May 2012 resulting from oil theft, ExxonMobil investigation has revealed.

Reporters also gathered that Addax Petroleum also lost 6,410 billion barrels between 2005 and 2009 and 12,343 billion barrels of crude oil between 2010 and 2012 following pipeline vandalization and illegal bunkering.

The company, in its presentation to the Joint House Committee on Petroleum (upstream) and Navy, disclosed that it has spent $1,241,800 between 2000 and 2004; $62,900 between 2005 and 2009 and $975,700 between 2010 and 2012 on repairs and maintenance of oil facility damaged during the attack on the company.

In a related development, the Nigerian Federal Government has imposed $5 billion administrative penalty on Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCO) over oil spill worth 40,000 barrels that occurred at Bonga Oil Field in December 2011 and impacted on 950 square kilometers of water surface.

Mark Ward, ExxonMobil Managing Director, gave the hint during an investigative hearing on the ‘unprecedented upsurge in oil bunkering in Nigeria’s coastal region’, held at the instance of the Joint House Committee on Petroleum (upstream) and Navy.

Ward, who was responding to the ‘top-up’ syndrome in the lifting of crude oil, however, affirmed that the country also loses about 110,000 barrels of crude to ‘deferred production’ from the operating areas and 50,000 barrels of crude as ‘top-up’ in line with international best practice.

He added that there were 105 platforms, three processing/loading terminals, 500 producing wells, adding that the NNPC/ MPV JV has no incidence of oil theft or illegal oil bunkering as the producing fields are at a distance of 20-100 kilometers from shore and located in a water depth of up to 200 feet and that the pipelines are not accessible.

Ward disclosed that the company has spent $15 million on repairs of vandalised oil pipelines. On the incidences of oil bunkering, he explained that the company has no record of oil bunkering and security challenges, adding that the ‘top up’ was an approved requirement done with the knowledge of relevant government agencies and their officials present at the point of lifting.

According to him, the reason for ‘top up’ was to make up for shortfall in case a particular vessel could not make up for the approved requirement at the point of discharge for a reason or another.

Other members of the committee had expressed concerns over the illegal overloading of crude in excess of the approved quantity.

The lawmakers also queried the absence of Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) at various terminals where the oil companies lift the crude oil.

The committee while expressing concern over the security challenges in the country also queried the operations of NIS in tackling the problem of Boko Haram and migration into the country.

Muraina Ajibola, chairman of the committee, had earlier asked the ExxonMobil chief executive to justify the rationale behind the additional crude categorised as ‘top up.’

In a related development, the Nigerian Federal Government through the National Oil Spill Detection Response Agency (NOSDRA) has imposed $5 billion administrative penalty on SNEPCO following the oil spill that resulted from facility breakdown during oil exploration in 2011.

The oil spill, according to NOSDRA, cover over 120 square kilometers and affected seven villages in the area.