By Kingsley Jeremiah, Abuja
OIL theft at the Oil Mining License (OML) 17 has dipped from 97 per cent in 2021 to 15 per cent in 2023, recording over 82 per cent drop, while pushing production to 40,000 barrels per day (bpd).
Heirs Energies disclosed yesterday that the assets acquired for $1.2 billion from Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited, Total E&P Nigeria Limited and ENI, with a joint venture partnership with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) are supplying 100 per cent of its gas production to the domestic market.
This comes at a time that Nigeria is struggling to tame oil theft and vandalism to increase production, which currently hovers around 1.3 million bpd against the 1.78 million bpd expected in the 2024 budget.
At the weekend, NNPCL noted that over 4,090 illegal refineries were deactivated last year to fight crude theft.
Marking its three-year anniversary, Heirs Energy attributed the significant reduction in theft and ramping up of oil production to a strategy built on community engagement.
The company said the definitive actions being taken by the government to address pipeline security and related concerns were paying off.
The move, according to the organisation, is aimed at securing Nigeria’s sustainable energy future.
Chairman of the company, Tony Elumelu, in a release signed by Head of External Relations, Chidimma Ugbojiaku, said the energy sector has not served Nigeria’s interest.
He observed: “As someone from the Niger Delta, I had seen firsthand how Nigeria’s resource wealth can be mishandled. I knew Nigeria could do better and control her destiny. My vision was to build Africa’s largest indigenous-owned integrated energy company, focused on Africa’s unique energy needs. As I look back now, we have more than succeeded.”
The organisation added that its gas supply aided the domestic market to meet local demand, providing energy to thousands of households, supplementing power plants and supporting various gas-reliant industries.
The firm said it recorded three incident-free years, maintaining zero Loss Time Injury (LTI) operations in OML 17, with 1.5 million man-hours.
Over 300 young people have been empowered through skill acquisition programmes, while the electrical infrastructure upgrades across host communities have impacted a population of over 270,000 people, it stated.
Originally published at Guardian Newspaper