The Nigeria Navy has said that it has uncovered a huge mechanism installed in the Oil Mining Lease (OML) 18 wellhead to siphon crude oil into waiting barges.
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The Commander Nigeria of Navy Ship (NNS) Pathfinder, Sulaiman Ibrahim, while conducting journalists in the site at Kala Ekweama community in the Asari-Toru Local Government Area of Rivers State, said the facility was discovered by naval helicopter
Sources on Wednesday alleged that OML 18 wellhead is owned and operated by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).
However, an industry source who preferred not be quoted explained issues surrounding the OML 18.
He said, “You will recall that earlier this year, NNPCL and Sahara Energy took over OML 18 in order to protect the JV investment by, removing Eroton Exploration and Production Limited as an operator of the JV. It was publicly available information that production had declined from fifty thousand barrels per day to zero.
“That well has been abandoned for a while hence the need for a take over. Taking over does not mean operations have begun. It was abandoned for a reason, Insecurity being the major bane. Protecting these assets is under the jurisdiction of security operatives. That said, NNPC is laying the ground work for proper re-entry in order to ramp up barrel count.
NNPC is also in the process of registering the host community funds as stipulated by the PIA which makes the host community liable if anything happens to those facilities. This makes the host communities part of the security apparatus to protect an asset that is deep in the creeks.”
Ibrahim said, “The terrain (site) was discovered by our naval helicopter on routine aerial patrol of the waterways and creeks in our area of responsibility.
“Immediately after it was spotted, we deployed our gunboats to the site and kept watch of the facility to ensure the illegality perpetrated here is discontinued.
The Nigeria Navy has put everything on the ground to ensure that it curbs illegal crude oil theft in the Niger Delta.”
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