The Group Chief Executive Officer, Nigeria National Petroleum Cooperation Limited, NNPCL, Mele Kyari said Pipeline vandalism and theft of petroleum products are major threat to energy security.
Kyari stated this in his address on Wednesday at the annual lecture, Faculty of Science Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-ife.
He said, the illegal activities, resulting to damage to the environment and lack of sustainable business operation is causing the Nigerian petroleum industry millions of dollars every year.
The GCEO, NNPCL said the illegal acts changed the petroleum products distribution philosophy from pipeline network to long convoy of tanker trucks.
He said “however, balancing supply and demand is not the only factor that determine energy security and sustainability. Environmental challenges, climate change, market deregulation, geopolitical tussles, technology, investment and other forces, all have implications on the energy security of nations.”
Kyari said the NNPCL has continued to discharge its mandate to guarantee national energy security and deliver value despite the myriads of challenges of its operating environment.
He disclosed that NNPCL in its effort to mitigate oil theft and pipeline vandalism, is leveraging on technology to track and identify illegal activities and suspicious movement of vessels used across the eastern, western and central corridors.
Delivering his address, the Vice Chancellor, OAU, Prof. Simeon Bamire said energy sufficiency is a critical pathway towards propelling economic development in Nigeria, thus theme of the lecture is attractive to academia, industry professionals, policymakers and even students.
In his opening speech, Prof. Olufemi Adesina said part of the faculty’s contribution to nation building is the establishment of a Center of Excellence for combined Energy Smart Innovation and Technologies (CoE-CESIT) which seeks to attract and develop expertise in emerging areas of energy science and technology research.
