Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — The Senate Ad-hoc Committee on Crude Oil Theft says it will hold a public hearing at the National Assembly on Wednesday to elicit salient information on issues concerning the menace from the nation’s security officials, oil industry players and other stakeholders.
Recall that the committee arrived Port Harcourt on Monday, last week for a week-long visit to oil facilities in the upstream, midstream and downstream sectors operating in the Niger Delta region, for a fact-finding mission over the increasing cases of oil theft in the country.
Chairman of the Committee, Senator Albert Akpan Bassey Akpan, explained that the on-site investigations have availed the Committee more detailed information on the foundational cause of the national menace and how it can be resolved.
Bassey, who described the level of oil theft in the Niger Delta region as a national crisis, said the menace needs a national approach where every stakeholder is given an opportunity to contribute at a public hearing.
While hinting that the issue may have some insider connivance, the lawmaker maintained that the Committee will ask the nation’s maritime security salient questions at the public hearing.
“As a committee, we will make a very strong recommendation to the Senate where lasting solution can be reached. I believe the security agencies have a lot of responsibilities on their shoulder.
“The Navy is in charge of the nation’s maritime boundaries, while the Army is in charge of the land, the Air force in charge of the Air. One begins to wonder how vessels laden with stolen crude oil leave the shores of the country without any monitoring.
“Based on the process sequence we have been exposed to on how crude is exported, there is nothing like stealing here. Because, before any vessel leave or comes into the country, it is registered and approved. So, there are some fundamental questions we intend to ask during the public hearing so that we can address some foundational issues,” he said.
The lawmaker also stated that the Ad-hoc Committee will make recommendations to the Senate on amending the Petroleum Industry Act, on oversight functions of regulatory bodies in the petroleum sector.
He said: “We can’t have a dual regulator in a single industry. Our various stakeholders are complaining in this regard. We have instances where you find the Authority in an upstream asset. This is one area we want to strengthen, to enable and ease the act of doing business.
“We are very cautious of amending the Act, and we insist that upstream asset must be monitored by NURPC, while the midstream and downstream must be monitored by the Authority because they have what it takes to tackle these issues.”
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