The European Union, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd (NNPC) and the Joint Task Force (JTF) Operation Delta Safe, on Friday visited an illegal oil refining site at Ahoada West Local Government Area, in Rivers State, to inspect the impact on the environment.
The refinery, already destroyed by the JTF, was visited to enable the EU partners to assess things for themselves and have an insight into how crude oil thieves set up illegal refineries and the adverse impact on the communities.
The Group Chief Executive Officer, NNPC, Mr Mele Kyari, commended the JTF for their good work in the Niger Delta area, in safeguarding the nation’s oil and gas assets.
He said Nigeria would soon curtail the breaches, and that they came with the development partners to see how much work was going on and how they could help to bring sanity, restore oil production and security for everyone.
“It cannot happen unless we are able to work together with all the reports; we are also ready for our partners to see things for themselves and the efforts that are being made to curtail the situation.
“I commend the troops on ground, working to ensure that the nation’s oil and gas sector is secured.
“We believe by August we will be able to bring down the menace to a minimal level. It is not good for the community, it has a huge negative impact on the environment.
“Today, the livelihood of the people here are impacted, people doing the business are not from the community, they are actually from other places.
“We are working with the community to take this out so that they can go back to their normal way of life.
“We are happy we are here today to see things for ourselves and our partners”, he said.
On his part, the JTF Commander, Rear Adm. Aminu Hassan, said within the period of three months, the taskforce destroyed more than 2,000 illegal refineries in the area.
“In one site here, you can get between 50 to 100 composite units where everyone is operating. Just like a market, everybody is doing his illicit business in one market. So, that is how they operate.
“Within a refining site, you can get hundreds of units, everyone doing his own, within a week or thereabout you can succeed in destroying thousands.
“Mechanically, we are destroying their machines which they are very fast in constructing.
“If you really want to supress them, you must be faster than them, work ahead of them, that is why we introduced these equipment, you will be on top of the situation to be ahead of them,” he said.
Noting that the community was of great support to the taskforce, he said, “to a great extent we are getting support from the community, we are urging them to also avail us with more information,” he said.
Hassan urged those indulging in such illegality to desist from it and find legitimate business to better their lives.
Also, the Deputy Director General, European Union Commission, Mr Mathew Baldwin, said they were on fact finding mission, adding that oil theft and illegal refining remained a big problem.
He commended the JTF and the NNPC, for the work done to salvage and restore the Nigerian oil and gas sector.
“We are here to find and understand the problem, if the production is used for the local market and if most of the production is going into the international market”, he said.
The EU delegation comprised of the Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Ms Samuela Isopi; and the Team Leader, Southern partnerships EU Commission, Ms Cecile Leeman.
Others are the Head of Division, West Africa, Mr Richard Young; the Political Adviser, EU delegation to Nigeria, Mr Thomas Kieler; the Programme Manager, EU delegation to Nigeria, Mr Jerome Riviere; and the Ambassador of Spain to Nigeria, Mr Juan Sell.
