Shell accuses elites over crude theft, illegal refineries

By Philip Ezuma, Port Harcourt

Shell Petroleum Development Company SPDC, had revealed that, crude thefts and illegal refineries in the country are carried out not by the common man, but by the rich, who have the financial muscle, previleges and connections, at their finger tips.

Venting his venom on the excess crude theft and illegal refineries, in Port Harcourt, the company’s General Manager, Corporate Relations, Nigeria, and Director SPDC Nigeria, was Igo Weli, during an engagement with newsmen, on ‘Crude Theft, Pipeline Vandalism & Illegal Refineries’, in the Niger Delta region.

Noting that the huge cost associated in the illegal activities, he vouched that they even acquire staff, to perfect their nefarious activities, regretting that, the amount of dollars Nigeria loses to criminals and economic saboteurs on regular basis, was the reason the country does not benefit from increased revenue, occasioned by the Ukrain-Russsia war, instead, her currency continues to nosedive.

“I do not understand why people with large funds should invest in the destruction of oil and gas pipelines, illegal refineries, hence destruction of their nation’s economic base.
What happens in oil and gas sector, is rather an index of the total mess in the system–education, health, security among others, “he affirmed.

He observed that SPDC spends more funds in Nigeria, on protection of their equipment. “We carry out daily overflights and at times involve the government, cage the well heads with technogy for alertness , which is not done in any other country” .

“Shell engages with the security agencies for surveillance, patrol, just as we contract the use of drones, to monitor the facilities. We commend the Rivers state governor Chief Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, for recently demonstrating leadership to stop the menace of crude theft and ilkegal refineries”.

On the rumour that his company is about to shut down their businesses here, he denied it, but noted, they are moving into the offshore and restructuring into renewable energy.

The Shell boss feared that, if the environmental degredation continues unabated, the federal government will be spending more than half of its national budget on remediation alone.

They pleaded for patriotism and more awareness on the side of the citizenry, especially host communities, to protect oil and gas facilities, rather than vandalizing them, warning that, SPDC is only a joint venture partner, while the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation NNPC and Nigeria indeed is the true owner.

SPDC is an international company, and could be forced will divest their investments in the country, if they continue to lose their facilities, and urged the federal government to provide necessary security for their staff and facilities

Shell Petroleum Development Company SPDC, regretted that they injected more than the sum of $2.bn (two billion dollars) only, into Niger Delta Development Commission NDDC, between 2000-2017 only for development.

Weli expressed regrets that, despite the huge investments in the Commission, nothing has been done so far, for overall development of the region, and blamed the interventionist agency, for lack vision, not leaving up to the aims and objectives of its formation.

In the engagement which its theme was ‘Curbing the Menace of Illegal Refineries & Crude Theft’, the general manager noted. “The NDDC set up to develope the region has failed woefully, and nobody talks about it”

The company bemoaned a situation in which, crude thefts and illegal refineries exist in the region unchallenged, explaining the avoidable losses, SPDC suffer and the nation’s economy, by extention, as a result.

The Shell boss feared that, if the environmental degredation continues unabated, the federal government will be spending more than half of its national budget on remediation alone.

They pleaded for patriotism and more awareness on the side of the citizenry, especially host communities, to protect oil and gas facilities, rather than vandalizing them, warning that, SPDC is only a joint venture partner, while the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation NNPC and Nigeria indeed is the true owner.

SPDC is an international company, and could be forced will divest their investments in the country, if they continue to lose their facilities, and urged the federal government to provide necessary security for their staff and facilities.