By Hugo Odiogor, Deputy Political Editor

LAGOS — NIGERIA is at the risk of losing out of the proposed $16 trillion post global recession investment in the energy sector, owing to the growing cases of vandalisation of oil pipeline and spillages across the country.

Sources told Vanguard that Nigeria is in grave danger of being over-looked by the global energy community from the huge economic recovery investment being put forward by the G-8 industrialised nations, to develop capacity and infrastructure at the supply end of world energy resources.

The oil and gas sector, which has become the life blood of industrial economy, is expected to benefit greatly from this process and Nigeria is the 10th largest producer of the product in the world.

Vanguard learnt that Nigeria loses over N100 billion daily owing to vandalisation of oil pipelines and theft of refined and crude products from breached pipelines by unscrupulous Nigerians who want quick wealth.

According to the US-based International Energy Agency, the G8 countries are prepared to spend $16 trillion as Foreign Direct Investment to boost global production of oil and gas by at least 30 per cent between now and year 2030.

Nigeria, which as a major oil producing country, is expected to benefit from this development, has been ravaged by vandalisation of oil pipelines, illegal bunkering and spillage of both crude and refined products in the Niger Delta region and beyond.

Acting Director General of National Oil Spillage Detection and Response Agency, NOSDRA, Mrs. Uche Okwechime, said in Abuja last week that oil spillage and vandalisation of pipelines have become “the most potent threat to its economy after the debilitating impact of the armed conflict in the Niger Delta region.”

FG raises alarm

Worried by the growing cases of oil spillage and bursting of pipelines, Minster of Environment, Mr. John Odey, has mandated a national awareness and sensitization campaign against the increasing cases of vandalisation of pipelines. The Minister said the actions were scaring away investors from the energy sector “and had potentials of harming the country’s share of the global investment in the energy sector in a post economic recession that will increase global demand for oil consumption.”

Nigeria requires investment in all available viable energy sources namely: wind, solar, bio-diesel and at the same time invest in replacement of aging facilities and damaged infrastructures.

The IEA argued that about $16 trillion would be spent on infrastructure and facilities to produce and deliver energy, transport fuel and refined products from producing countries to consuming countries.

The agency said: “This will require creating a vast global network of liquefied natural gas facilities to cope with the surge in the demand for natural gas.”

But Nigeria’s oil and gas sector is going through one of its worst turbulent periods with militant attacks on oil personnel, infrastructure and facilities who started off as agitations for equity and social justice but have increasingly grown criminal in their activities.

Okwechime said the agency received daily reports of over 15 cases of vandalisation of pipelines and oil spillage across the country, adding: “The incidence of vandalisation of oil pipeline is no longer localised to the oil producing area as cases of breaking of pipelines have been reported in the northern parts of the country.”

Statistics from the Federal Ministry of Environment showed that in the last two years, Nigeria recorded over 3,400 cases of oil spillage and vandalisation of pipelines by criminals who are involved in illegal bunkering of petroleum products.

NOSDRA stated: “Apart from the substantial loss of revenue from the growing incidents, oil spillages and vandalisation are the related cases of pollution of the environment and the enormous cost of clean-up and remediation, which are difficult to quantify in monetary term, but more importantly is the harm that the activities of illegal bunkers are inflicting on the economy.”

Officials of International Energy Agency have sent warning signals to the country’s policy makers and private sector operators that Nigeria may be overlooked by investors who would not risk putting their money in a crime prone vital resource sector like the oil and gas.

Some officials of the international oil companies told Vanguard that Ghana, Angola, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon stand to profit at Nigeria’s expense unless the country rises up to the threat posed by oil pipeline attacks, noting: “This would certainly affect Foreign Direct Investment flow into the country, which is critical to national economic development, especially, of the existing potentials in the oil and gas sector.”

Impact of the creek war

Barely one year after the invasion of Gbaramatu Kingdom and creek villages in the Niger Delta, by the Joint Military Task Force, JTF, Nigeria is still suffering the impact of the use of force to put down the militancy and insurgency in the Niger Delta, which almost crippled the economy, arising from the drop in its production level and revenue from sale of crude oil in the international market.

The vandalisation of pipeline is a continuation of the war of attrition against failure of government to live up to its responsibility and crass corruption in the country.

At the height of the conflict in the Niger Delta, the militants succeeded in bringing down the country’s oil production capacity from 2.2 million barrel per day, to about 800,000 barrel per day. Similarly, the conflict in the Niger Delta contributed in no small measure to the volatility of global oil prices in the past six years. The action of the militants was meant to draw national and international attention to the economic deprivation and environmental degradation in the region. Their goal was to force the government to dialogue with them on their demand.

The JTF deployed to the area by the Federal Government to restore peace and safeguard the economic installations in the region became drawn to the conflict in the region and security personnel are alleged to have abet the crime.

Awareness

To combat the new scourge, Okwechime said NOSDRA planned to embark on aggressive awareness and sensitization campaign in the oil producing areas against pipeline vandalisation and illegal oil bunkering. This will entail informing, educating and enlightening the public on the evils of pipeline vandalisation in the oil producing communities, the pollution of the environment and destruction of the ecology.

She said: “Persuasion, dialogue, negotiations, arid compromises are the tools to be employed in the enlightenment and awareness campaign to be embarked upon to change the orientation of those who engage in vandalisation and those who condone their acts of sabotage.”

Okwechime added that the awareness and sensitization process would provide her agency the ample opportunity to work with the media, politicians at the local governments, community and opinion leaders, operators of the oil industry, in a bid to finding a lasting solution to oil spillage in the Niger Delta and across the country