Plot Allegedly Thickens to Thwart House Committee Investigating Oil Theft

Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja

There are grand plots to thwart the House of Representatives ad hoc committee investigating crude oil theft and loss of revenue from the oil and gas sector.

The investigative hearing which continues today as Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Limited (NIMASA), National Inland Waterways (NIWA), NMDRA, Ministers in charge of Finance, Gas, Petroleum Resources, Industry, Trade and Investment, the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), and Customs among others, were expected to be in attendance following their summon by the committee.

The committee had during the first day of the public hearing held on Thursday, September 7, said the panel was committed to doing a thorough job noting that the report if implemented would put an end to the fiasco of oil theft in Nigeria.

The committee, chaired by Hon. Alhassan Rurum, noted that the panel would not jump to a conclusion on any allegation.

He assured that the legislative procedure of the hearing presents an opportunity for everyone to make his/her submission to the committee.

However, the committee’s investigation has so far uncovered a seeming massive corruption perpetrated in alleged collusion with regulatory agencies at the export loading terminals.

The committee has held extensive interrogation and interaction with security agencies and would be engaging intensely with the operators of the marginal fields, 14 production-sharing contract operators and 57 joint venture operators in the days ahead.

Multiple sources in the Green Chamber familiar with the ongoing probe said the committee has continued to make stunning discoveries about oil theft which may have involved the collusion of regulatory agencies and collaborators in the sector.

Meanwhile, a reliable source who pleaded anonymity said the Rurum-led committee was shining a spotlight on the activities of marginal field operators that are allegedly aiding crude oil theft to complement the shortfalls in their production.

The source said noted that from the submission of Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), some of the Marginal Field Operators in the country include, Niger Delta Petroleum Resources Limited, Prime Exploration & Production (Operator), Suffolk Petroleum Limited, Oriental Energy Resources Limited, Universal Energy Limited, Prime Exploration & Production (Operator).

“Others are Pillar Oil Limited, Platform Petroleum Limited, Chorus Energy Limited, Millenium Oil and Gas Limited, Brittania U-Nigeria Limited, Network E&P Limited, Waltersmith Petroman Limited (Operator), Morris Petroleum Limited, Midwestern Oil and Gas Limited, Suntrust Oil Company Limited, Frontier Oil Limited, Energia Limited (Operator), Oando  Production and Development Limited, Excel Exploration & Production Limited, Green  Energy  International Limited,” the source added.