August 09, (THEWILL) – The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, has decried huge crude oil theft in the country.
Sylva lamented that hoodlums, who perpetrate the act, have caused the production level to reduce by 400,000 barrels per day (bpd), translating to a drop from 1.8 million to 1.4 million bpd.
He expressed this concern on Monday, when he visited the Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, at the Government House, Owerri.
Accompanied by a high powered team, made up of the Minister of State for Education, Goodluck Opiah; the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Lucky Irabor; the Group Chief Executive Officer, the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), Alhaji Mele Kyari, Sylva said they came as part of industry-wide intervention mission to find a lasting solution to curb crude oil theft in Nigeria, noting that they were also in the state to get the buy-in and support of the state government on how to tackle the problem.
“We’ve come here to engage the state government to get your buy-in and support”, he said.
The Minister said his delegation was in the state to seek the cooperation of the state government, adding that the oil host communities should play a collaborative effort to stop the alarming levels of crude oil theft, which has now become a national emergency.
Governor Uzodimma, however, declared the commitment of the government to curb the menace in the state.
“We are committed; we are determined. The consequences of oil theft are alarming. Our economy is bleeding”, he said.
Uzodimma regretted that the development has led to a drop in the earnings of government, creating environmental pollution and other health hazards.
He promised that the state government would do its best to support oil-producing companies, as well as collaborate with the Federal Government to achieve the goal.
The governor thanked the NNPC Limited for the 200-bed hospital it is building at the Imo State University Teaching Hospital, Orlu.
