Our Own

Pipeline vandalism and oil theft have been a major threat to successful oil production in Nigeria. According to a report by Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), oil and gas pipeline vandalism rose by 77 percent in June 2019. This affirms a recent report that says Nigeria lost about 22 million barrels of crude oil in six months. These losses come against the backdrop of huge surveillance contracts for the security of oil pipelines.

Although NNPC operations are usually shredded in secrecy, a media report estimates that NNPC has about N9.3 billion worth of security contracts with various companies. How is it possible that oil theft has been on the increase despite huge sums spent on pipeline surveillance? It is a no brainer that the use of private security companies in securitising oil facilities are not yielding the desired results.

Without synergy between host communities and oil companies, securitisation strategies are largely bound to have minimal impact. Apart from this, there is no sense of local ownership and buy-in of communities. There is an unspoken aloofness when it comes to public properties, especially when there is perceived social injustice perpetuated by those in charge of it. Involving local communities while awarding security contracts will act as away of corporate social responsibility for wealth creation. It will also create a sense of ownership and responsibility to protect towards oil facilities. Hence, it will lead to enhanced community security and reduction of incidents related to oil theft. In essence, the strategy of awarding pipeline protection and security contracts to private security firms will continue to fail in delivering the needed dividends.

On a governmental level, there seem to be lack of collaboration between the states and federal governments on issues around oil facilities. It can be argued that the spate of vandalism is mostly due to the seeming lack of support by PDP-controlled state governments towards the APC-led federal government. Recently, Niger Delta governors kicked against the composition of the Niger Delta Development Commission Board, citing that the states are critical partners in the commission and have not been carried long. These nuances can largely contribute to the growing cases of oil theft in the region.

For efforts channeled towards curbing oil theft and the attendant losses on the nation’s economy to bring meaningful results, there is need to develop a pipeline security strategy which has host communities as the providers. This is because, for a policy to be successful and sustainable, it requires an appreciable level of citizens’ inclusion. State governments (critical stakeholders)  should be incorporated in the decision making and implementation strategies targeted at the oil industries. It requires the collective resolve of all parties in mitigating the increasing level of oil and gas pipeline vandalism in Nigeria.