Managing Director of Shell Petroleum Development Company, SPDC, Mutiu Sunmonu, has disclosed that it would be unrealistic to enjoy a stable electricity supply in the country if the rate of crude oil theft and pipeline vandalisation are not looked into.
Speaking at the 11th Annual Aret Adams Memorial lecture held in Lagos last Thursday, the Shell boss observed that the level of destruction of pipelines has serious implications on gas supply to the powers plants, stating further that the recent pipeline vandalisation in the Niger Delta forced his company to close its Afam 11 power plant with severe implication to power supply in the country.
Sunmonu said Nigeria cannot afford to watch the growing crude oil theft in the country and charged stakeholders in the economy to partner with the federal government with a view to combating crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism. He also urged host communities to complement the efforts of the government in stopping the act by blowing the whistle on vandals and saboteurs.
He said over 70 percent of stolen crude oil are exported outside the shores of the land with serious consequences on the national economy and the oil and gas sector.
Sunmonu frowned at the rise in the number of illegal refineries in the Niger Delta, adding that the operators of the facilities do not mean well for Nigeria.
He also explained that the environmental damage done to the communities where the refineries are cited cannot be quantified.
