By Adedapo Adesanya
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Mr Heineken Lokpobiri, has tasked the Defence Headquarters to reduce economic sabotage by protecting oil and gas facilities, to ramp up Nigeria’s oil production.
Nigeria’s oil production dropped to around 1.2 million barrels per day in March 2024, a further decline from the 1.78 million barrels per day target in the 2024 budget.
The Minister, when he received the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Gwabin Musa, at the Ministry of Petroleum, pledged to give the Defence Headquarters all necessary support to protect critical oil facilities and improve oil production.
Mr Lokpobiri emphasized the need to tackle illegal oil bunkering and vandalism in the Niger Delta region while offering to collaborate more with DHQ to reduce economic sabotage, lamenting that the menace was affecting the nation’s economy.
“Our ongoing efforts to ramp up production must be complemented with adequate security of our oil facility installations. This was the focus of my meeting with the Chief of Defence Staff, General C.G Musa and his team, during which I emphasized the urgent need to tackle illegal bunkering and oil facility vandalism in the Niger Delta region.
“Recognising the important role of oil and gas investments in our economy, I called upon General Musa to leverage his extensive experience and knowledge of the creeks to address these challenges effectively because protecting these vital assets is paramount to ensuring our economic stability.
“I am confident in General Musa’s ability to coordinate strategic measures and techniques to combat these threats and safeguard our nation’s prosperity, complementary to our efforts to secure our oil and gas infrastructure for the benefit of all Nigerians.”
On his part, the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Gwabin Musa, pledged the DHQ’s continuous partnership with the ministry to address the issues of oil theft, pipeline vandalism, illegal refineries and other economic sabotage perpetuated by criminal elements.
He said the Armed Forces of Nigeria will support the Petroleum Ministry to ensure Nigeria maximises the profit from its natural resources, assuring the Minister that the Defence Headquarters would provide maximum security to oil facilities in the country.
“Our national assets must be well protected, if that is done, the oil production will rise and the economy will improve.”