Critical observers of the battle against crude oil theft in Nigeria are often at a loss regarding where to place the Nigerian Navy. They find it difficult to know if the security organization is actually fighting oil thieves or if it is rather running with the hare and hunting with the hounds.
This inescapable assertion emanates from the claims of the security agency which are often found to be doubtful, its apparent deliberate efforts to divert attention whenever the fight gets hotter, often absorbing numerous accusations without convincing response, and the way and manner it relates with those who are serious in prosecuting the war, spurs suspicions.
Nigerians have not forgotten how the former Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Awwal Gambo, last year hotly disputed NNPC and the Ministry of Petroleum Resources’ pronouncement on the quantity of crude being stolen from Nigeria monthly. The duo had lamented that Nigeria was losing between 200,000-400,000 barrels of crude per day.
But the former Chief of Naval Staff contradicted them, saying that it was practically impossible to have up to 200,000 barrels of crude oil stolen and ferried through Nigeria’s waters. He said it was not possible for that quantity of crude to be stolen daily, given the deployments of Navy ships and other operational platforms spread across the nation’s maritime domain.
Buttressing his argument, Vice Admiral Gambo said, “Let us even briefly analyze this. For instance, 100,000 barrels of crude oil is equivalent to 15,800,000 litres of crude, which requires a five-ton barge making 3,160 trips per day to convey this product out of the creeks.
“How do you pass the estuaries with this? So, let’s assume now you even have many barges because of the time required to carry out this product. That means you entirely close the navigable waters heading out to sea, through the estuaries, to embark them or to transit them into a mother vessel that will eventually take them out of the country.
“Of course, this is most unlikely considering the heightened presence of security agencies in the maritime environment as well as the launch of the subsisting operations by the Nigerian Navy, including, of course, the deployment of the maritime domain awareness facilities”.
The former CNS further said: “As much as there is no perfect system, the phenomenon of oil theft and losses must be properly de-conflicted in order to proffer lasting solutions to the malaise which is currently be–devilling our economic resources.
“We need to understand the difference between oil theft and, of course, oil loss. While oil theft is siphoning oil from vandalized pipes into barges, oil losses occur when there is non-production, especially during shut-ins and force majeure as the federal government does not earn the desired revenue it should”.
He further explained that oil losses could be as a result of metering errors on the operating platforms, while the volume of crude oil shut-ins from non-production are often added to oil theft data instead of accounting for them as oil losses by the authorities.
“This should not be. Some sources also claim that about 200,000 – 400,000 barrels per day are being considered stolen. Most of these claims are definitely outrageous and they are unrealistic,” he insisted.
These statements by the former Chief of Naval Staff came at the point Nigeria was being bled to death by oil thieves. This was the time the Navy came out to tell Nigerians that the quantity of crude being stolen from Nigeria on daily basis was exaggerated, that the claim being made by other government officials were unrealistic. In other words, that the situation was not as bad as it’s being painted. While everybody was talking about losses to oil thieves, the naval chief was talking of oil losses through shut-ins, non-production and force majeure.
But the NNPC, Ministry of Petroleum Resources and others who were in a position to know the extent of the losses know that the quantity of crude being stolen from Nigeria is even more than the figure in contention. At that time last year, it was said that more than 70% of the daily production was being stolen. Yet the navy said it was not possible for large quantity of crude to be stolen and ferried out of Nigeria.
Just recently, the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, confirmed the figure when he said Nigeria was still losing 400,000 barrels of crude oil daily to oil thieves. The National Security Adviser said this after he led a presidential delegation to inspect oil and gas facilities at Owaza in Abia State and Odogwa in Etche LGA of Rivers state. He added that the nation’s economy is badly affected as a result of oil criminals.
Ribadu said: “Nigeria has the capacity to produce two million barrels of crude daily, but we are currently producing less than 1.6 million barrels due to theft and vandalism of pipelines. So, we are talking about 400,000 barrels of crude oil going to waste. “The value of 400,000 barrels of oil today is about four million dollars, and every day, we lose this amount because of this irresponsible behaviour. If you multiply four million dollars by 365 days (one year), you will see that it is a lot of money running into billions of dollars.” Notably, he was accompanied on the visit by the Service Chiefs and other top security officials.
The argument of the former Chief of Naval Staff, to many observers, apparently represented the view of the Navy, and informed their seriousness or otherwise in the fight against oil thieves. This can equally explain why they are now fighting Tantita Securities Limited, the private security firm which has unwittingly debunked their claim as to the quantity of crude being stolen and how, as well exposing the decades of deceit of Nigerians.
Tantita has reportedly apprehended large oil vessels said to be stealing Nigeria’s crude and exposed big connection points through which oil is piped into large ships. They have proved that it does not require a five-ton barge making 3,160 trips per day to convey the crude out of the creeks. On Wednesday August 2, 2023, Tantita apprehended a vessel, MT Praisel loaded with 8,100 litres of suspected crude in Koko, Delta State. With these interceptions of large ships and discovery of huge connection points, the private security firm has proved that large quantities of stolen crude leave the nation’s shores on daily basis contrary to the navy’s claims.
It is instructive to note that the MT Praisel incident brought the private security outfit on head-on collision with the Navy. Since then, the relationship between the two organizations has been frosty, with the Navy seeking revenge by all means. It was the culmination of the ill-feeling of the navy since Tantita’sexploits in the fight against oil theft began and the consequent applause from Nigerians that led to the recent claim by the Navy that they arrested four TantitaSecurity operatives involved in oil theft.
The Navy about a fortnight ago, in a media statement, said it arrested four staff of TSSL in Lagos for attempted oil theft. The statement credited to the Commander, NNS BEECROFT, Commodore Kolawole Olumide Oguntuga, said naval officers stationed at Forward Operation Base (FOB), Lekki, in the early hours of 29th August, 2023, foiled an attempted oil theft operation on the waterways near Itolu community, Lekki, Lagos. The details of how the arrest was made and how they came to know later that the four Tantita operatives were members of a gang of oil thieves in the area are as confusing as they are amusing.
In reply to the Navy’s claim of arresting its personnel involved in oil theft, TSSL described the development as “a poorly acted script and a smear campaign driven by a shameful, convoluted conspiracy for a revenge mission arising from the navy’s avoidable altercation with it over recent arrest of MT PRAISEL and in which the navy apparent not too tidy involvement became issue of embarrassment.”
The private security accused the Navy of twisting the facts, noting that the said operatives were actually chasing after the real crude oil smugglers who it suspected were working hands in gloves with the navy. TSSL explained that that the arrest of Tantita’s operative was firstly to provide escape route and protection for the crude thieves, and secondly a chance to seek to discredit Tantita which the navy perceive as an enemy for apparently cleaning up the darkling plain of crude oil smuggling which the navy has been unable to do as a result of suspected entrenched narrow self–interests.
Obviously, the frosty relationship between Tantita Security and the Navy certainly does not augur well for the fight against oil thieves. Instead of cooperation to battle the wicked oil thieves what one sees is mutual suspicion and bitter rivalry.
But truth be told, Nigerians know who between the two organizations is actually engaged in the fight against oil theft. Nigerians also know who to believe in these claims and counter-claims, starting from the arrest of MT Praisel to the recent “arrest of Tantita personnel engaged in oil theft”.
This is why the sustained fight against TSSL both by the Navy and those outside who are only interested in the security contract should resisted. The government if it really wants to put an end to oil theft or, at least, bring the menace to the barest minimum should not pander to those who want Tantita out of the way. This is because as the private security said, and which is true, it has cleaned up the darkling plain of crude oil smuggling, performing the functions, which navy is statutorily responsible for.
This is what the Navy has not been able to do with all the so-called deployments of personnel, its “state-of-the-art” Falcons Eye and NIMASA’s Deep Blue Project assets. Whether these exist in reality or are mere false claims is a story for another day.
Meanwhile, Tantita Securities Services Limited is a company reportedly owned by Chief Government Oweizide Ekpemupolo, popularly referred to by his sobriquet Tompolo. Tompolo is a former militant commander of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, an organization that contributed to the insecurity in the Niger Delta through its claimed fight for resource control and well being of people of oil producing areas.
Tompolo, who is also chief priest of Egbesu deity, an Ijaw god of war, was reportedly awarded a contract said to worth N40 billion for surveillance work on oil pipelines by Nigerian National Petroleum Corporations (NNPC). Separately, he was declared wanted in 2009 and also in 2015 by the government of President Mohammadu Buhari, making him a government contractor while also on the most wanted list of Nigeria’s anti-corruption agency.
