Military alone can’t curb crude oil theft – Naval Chief

Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla, has said the military alone cannot curb crude oil theft.

Ogalla stated this at Naval Headquarters, Abuja, when he held a meeting with stakeholders in maritime sector, on Tuesday.

Daily Trust reports that the stakeholders who were invited for the meeting include officials of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.), Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), private security firms, oil companies, investors from oil and gas sector, among many others.

Ogalla, who described the Nigerian economy as “oil-dependent” said they would strategise to address shortfalls in the crude oil production, hence the meeting.

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Ogalla said in spite of the steady decline in the rate of maritime crimes and significant rise in oil production recently, Nigeria has not been able to meet its OPEC production quota.

“Of course you know what’s happening in the country – the issue of oil production, its implications on our economy. Our economy is an oil-dependent economy. If we can produce enough oil, then, we have enough resources to shore up all the gaps we have in the economy.”

“But once we cannot produce enough oil, the problem of unemployment, devaluation of Naira, and oil these things you’re seeing today will arise. All these problems you’re seeing today, they are all linked to oil production in one way or another.

“This meeting is a strategic engagement. It is for us to be able to assess what we’re not doing well, in order to block those gaps, to be able to provide enabling environment for the stakeholders in the industry to be able to do their utmost in order to produce maximally as it is required,” the Naval Chief said.

The senior military officer stressed that the meeting was necessary to tackle oil theft, boost crude oil production and for other businesses to thrive, thereby enhancing the nation’s economic prosperity and development.