Community Development Committee of Niger Delta Oil and gas producing area, CDC has faulted plans by the federal government to transport crude oil from the production point to export terminal by trucks or Barges other than the well known pipeline method. The suggestion to barge or truck the crude oil to export terminals was made by the Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NURPC) which is the regulator in the Nigeria Upstream oil and gas industry. But the board of trustees of the CDC through its chairman, Joseph Ambakaderimo said that the idea of barging and trucking of crude oil has been used sometimes in the past and jettisoned when it was discovered that oil was being diverted to unknown destinations by those who were contracted to convey the products. Ambakaderimo said that the idea as suggested by the agency is archaic and will give room for manipulation and more loss of crude oil.
“Nigerians have a penchant for abusing processes. The use of pipelines cannot be controverted. It is the most cost effective means of transportation of crude oil and refined products when considering the distance from field of production to export terminals. We are complaining of high cost of production of crude oil as the highest in the world which has become disincentive to attract new investments to the sector, by this suggestion from NUPRC, if implemented it will certainly be a death knell to the sector. We must streamline our measures to align with the President’s executive order recently signed. The recognition of the President to the many issues impeding new investments in the sector is commendable and should be supported by all well meaning Nigerians. If we are giving up on the pipelines then all the agencies of government have failed. The pipelines are the safest for transportation of crude oil and others as of today and in many years to come. What needs to be done is constant enlightenment of the communities of the implications of oil theft on the economy of the nation and the environment”.
He said CDC has been consistent in advocating for the provision of alternatives and incentives to attract the unlicensed refineries operators to look away. “There must be incentives that should be dangled before these group of individuals that will be attractive. Bombing the refineries is not the solution, what is the alternative government is willing to provide for the operators should be the focus now, we must provide something to make them look away, we must make them understand that there is something much more better than what they are engaged in at the moment”. Ambakaderimo called on the leadership of relevant government agencies that are saddled with the responsibility of bringing succour and development to the oil producing communities to be rejigged to give way for very serious minded persons to be appointed to take charge and change the narrative for the betterment of the region. “It seems many of the responsibilities of the leadership of these agencies in the past have failed the people of the region therefore many young people are frustrated and discontenment is rife amongst the people which has led to survival at all means.
The state governments of the region are also complicit because they abandoned the real oil producing communities by starving them of infrastructure with more preference for urban development thereby leaving the oil producing communities desolate. “We must take concrete and tangible steps to quickly tackle this menace, we have left this oil theft issue for too long unattended to strategically, it is unacceptable. The CDC is at the disposal of the government to secure the pipelines, we have had fruitful collaborative meetings with some relevant government agencies where we have identified the lack of collaboration amongst all of the relevant agencies of government as the root cause of the unabated trend that has continued. We have identified everyone working in Silos without a strategic plan of action”, he said.
