The Federal Government on Tuesday called for a comprehensive approach toward tackling oil theft in Nigeria. The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Chief Anyim Pius Anyim, made the call at the Upstream and Downstream Exhibition and Conference in Abuja.
Represented by Mrs Jamila Shuara, a Permanent Secretary in his Office, Anyim charged stakeholders in the oil and gas industry to assist government in its war against the menace of oil theft. He stressed the need for all hands to be on deck to curtail it in view of its menace to the nation’s economy. “Government’s expectation is for participants at this conference to come up with strategies that will curtail sharp practices in the sector,
“We are also faced with the current challenge of leakage within the production process; this includes oil theft. I must quickly add that these challenges are not insurmountable as all hands are on deck to put in place a more hitch-free process in the country’s oil and gas sector,’’ he said. He said that the Federal Government was working with the National Assembly to ensure the speedy passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB). He expressed optimism that the PIB, when passed into law, would transform operations in the sector as well as enhance the capacity of indigenous companies to compete internationally.
`The law is expected to act as a catalyst to lay the foundation of fairness, competitiveness, openness and accountability by encouraging a framework for massive reform in the sector,’’ he said. He expressed government’s willingness to collaborate with the organised private sector and other major players to improve efficiency in the nation’s upstream and downstream sectors of the industry.
Earlier, the Executive Secretary, Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF), Dr Oluwole Oluleye, said the fund was committed to using technology to drive development in the oil and gas sector. He said the PTDF through its scholarship programmes and training of Nigerians had succeeded in increasing efficiency and productivity in the oil and gas sector.
Represented by Mr Neeka Jacob, Head, Research and Documentation, Oluleye said the fund was exploring ways of using local technology to protect and secure the nation’s pipelines against vandals. His presentation entitled: “An Appraisal of Petroleum Technology Development Fund Intervention Implementation Strategy and Nigeria’s Workforce Employability’’ explained efforts by the PTDF transform the oil and gas sector. International Oil Companies, National Assembly members, officials from NNPC, PTDF and Nigeria Export Processing Zone is attending the three-day event, which would end on Thursday.
