Organised Criminals Take over Crude Oil Theft

Mr. Mutiu Sunmonu, managing director, Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC), has blamed well-financed and highly organised criminals for crude oil theft in the Niger Delta, saying they run a parallel industry with a "developed supply chain and growing sophistication.

"I am worried about the incredible growth of oil theft and illegal refining activities over the last couple of years. I am worried as a Nigerian and you all should be worried too! Our economy loses about $6 billion annually to illegal bunkering." He said.

Sunmonu, spoke at the Extractive Business Dialogue on Corruption organised by the Nigerian Economic Summit Group, in Port Harcourt and warned that crude oil theft has reached a crisis situation.

According to the Shell boss Nigerians and all stakeholders should also be worried about the devastation on the environment, stressing that sabotage and oil theft accounted for around 75 percent of the oil spilled SPDC's facilities.

"In 2012, they accounted for over 95 percent of the volume of oil spilled," Sunmonu added.

He said sheer scale of oil theft and its consequences puts enormous strain on Shell's staff and operation teams and diverts time and resources to dealing with the menace.

Besides, he noted that the fact that most neighbouring countries to Nigeria have found oil makes it imperative for urgent steps to be taken to block all oil revenue leakages and to improve accountability.