The Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Adm. Emmanuel Ogalla, has attributed the increase in oil production in the past six months to the good job of the Nigerian Navy in curtailing illegal petroleum product refining and oil theft in the oil-producing states.
Ogalla disclosed this on Tuesday when he visited officers and naval ratings in the Central Naval Command in Yenegoa, Bayelsa.
According to the Chief of Naval Staff, since his troops took over the security duties of areas in the Niger Delta region known to engage in oil theft and illegal refining of crude oil, oil production increased from 700,000 barrels per day to 1.7 million barrels per day.
What he said:
- “When we started in 2023, precisely around June, we went to all the naval formations, assessed the situation and looked at what was the problem at that time the nation’s oil production was about 700,000 barrels per day.
- “We needed to raise our game and we became more intelligent driven, in the sense that we made sure we involved the community and other agencies to get information.
- “In doing so, many things were put in place. We impounded many vessels operating illegally, particularly for oil theft.
- “We demobilized these vessels and these criminals started seeing their ventures as very costly and the likelihood of them being caught is always there.
- “That is why they have been curtailing their activities in the last six months, increasing oil production.
- “This is what we have been doing and we are going to do more to increase our strategies. Why we are here today is to look at some of the areas we have to work on so that in 2024 we tend to increase oil-production capacity by another 50 per cent,” he said.
What you should know
In addition to efforts of the Nigerian Navy in curtailing oil theft and illegal oil refining in the oil-producing part of the country, the Nigerian Army is also invested in ensuring oil production increases by going against illegal refineries in the country.
Nairametrics earlier reported that the Nigerian Army revealed that it destroyed 233 illegal refineries in Akwa Ibom, Cross River, and Rivers States in 2023.
The GOC of the 6 Division of the Nigerian Army, Maj.-Gen. Jamal Abdulsalam, who made the announcement also noted in 2023, the Army arrested 1,112 suspected oil thieves and impounded 72 trucks and other vehicles.
Abdulsalam further assured that in 2024, the Nigerian Army would do more to ensure oil production increases.
