The Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Mele Kyari, says the NNPCL is not owing Nigeria, but the country is owing it N1.3trn.
Kyari, at an interactive session on oil theft, vandalism and state of refineries organised by the Senate joint committees on petroleum resources yesterday, was speaking on alleged non-remittances from NNPCL into the federation account since January.
He also told the committee that within the last six weeks, 395 illegal refineries have been de-activated, 274 reservoirs destroyed, 1,561 metal tanks destroyed and 49 trucks seized.
He said the most striking of all was the 4km illegal oil connection line from Forcados Terminal into the sea which had been in operation undetected for nine years.
“As a result of oil theft, Nigeria losses about 600,000 barrels per day which is not healthy for the nation’s economy,” he said.
He said the illegal refinery operators also engaged locals in host communities, who erroneously took them as operatives of licensed oil exploration companies.
Kyari and the chairman of the Senate Committee on Petroleum (Upstream), Senator Albert Bassey Akpan, advocated capital punishment for oil thieves and pipeline vandals.
